An Assessment of the Breastfeeding Practices and Infant Feeding Pattern among Mothers in Mauritius

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism Volume 2013, Article ID 243852, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/243852 Research Article An Assessment of the Breastfeeding Practices and Infant Feeding Pattern among Mothers in Mauritius Ashmika Motee,1 Deerajen Ramasawmy,2 Prity Pugo-Gunsam,3 and Rajesh Jeewon1 1 Department of Health Science, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius Faculty of Law and Management, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius 3 Department of Bioscience, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius 2 Correspondence should be addressed to Rajesh Jeewon; Received 30 March 2013; Revised 8 June 2013; Accepted 9 June 2013 Academic Editor: Johannes B. van Goudoever Copyright © 2013 Ashmika Motee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Proper breastfeeding practices are effective ways for reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. While many mothers understand the importance of breastfeeding, others are less knowledgeable on the benefits of breastfeeding and weaning. The aim in here is to assess breastfeeding pattern, infant formula feeding pattern, and weaning introduction in Mauritius and to investigate the factors that influence infant nutrition. 500 mothers were interviewed using a questionnaire which was designed to elicit information on infant feeding practices. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS (version 13.0), whereby chi-square tests were used to evaluate relationships between different selected variables. The prevalence of breastfeeding practice in Mauritius has risen from 72% in 1991 to 93.4% as found in this study, while only 17.9% breastfed their children exclusively for the first 6 months, and the mean duration of EBF (exclusive breastfeeding) is 2.10 months. Complementary feeding was more commonly initiated around 4–6 months (75.2%). Despite the fact that 60.6% of mothers initiate breastfeeding and 26.1% of mothers are found to breastfeed up to 2 years, the practice of EBF for the first 6 months is low (17.9%). Factors found to influence infant feeding practices are type of delivery, parity, alcohol consumption, occupation, education, and breast problems. 1. Introduction Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is essential to ensure the growth, health, and development of children to their full potential [1]. It has been recognized worldwide that breastfeeding is beneficial for both the mother and child, as breast milk is considered the best source of nutrition for an infant [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months, followed by breastfeeding along with complementary foods for up to two years of age or beyond [3]. Exclusive breastfeeding can be defined as a practice whereby the infants receive only breast milk and not even water, other liquids, tea, herbal preparations, or food during the first six months of life, with the exception of vitamins, mineral supplements, or medicines [4]. The major advantage of exclusive breastfeeding from 4 to 6 months includes reduced morbidity due to gastrointestinal infection [5]. However, many researchers are questioning if there is sufficient evidence to confidently recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months for infants in developed countries due to the fact that breast milk may not meet the full energy requirements of the average infant at 6 months of age [6]. Nevertheless, there is scanty data that give estimation about the proportion of exclusively breastfed infants at risk of specific nutritional deficiencies. Several studies have shown that mothers find it difficult to meet personal goals and to adhere to the expert recommendations for continued and exclusive breastfeeding despite increased rate of initiation [7]. Some of the major factors that affect exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding include breast problems such as sore nipples or mother’s perceptions that she is producing inadequate milk [4, 8, 9]; societal barriers such as employment and length of maternity leave [9]; inadequate breastfeeding knowledge [8]; lack of familial and societal support; lack of guidance and encouragement from health care professionals [2, 9]. These factors in turn promote the early use of breast milk substitute. 2 Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism When breast milk or infant formula no longer supplies infants with required energy and nutrients to sustain normal growth and optimal health and development, complementary feeding should be introduced [10]. According to the WHO recommendations, the appropriate age at which solids should be introduced is around 6 months [11] owing to the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract and the renal system as well as on the neurophysiological status of the infant [12]. Factors that influence the weaning process include infant feeding problems such as refusal to eat, colic, and vomiting among others [13]. These factors represent challenges for mothers and in turn may either directly or indirectly influence the feeding pattern. Hence, understanding the factors affecting infant nutrition in Mauritius can help in developing strategies to promote breastfeeding and overcoming problems faced by mothers and children. Predictors of breastfeeding and weaning practices vary between and within countries. Urban or rural difference, age, breast problems, societal barriers, insufficient support from family, knowledge about good breastfeeding practices, mode of delivery, health system practices, and community beliefs have all been found to influence breastfeeding in different areas of developing countries [4, 8, 9]. Information on the prevalence and factors influencing infant feeding practices is limited in Mauritius and dates back to 1996 [14]. This present study aims to determine infant feeding pattern and its predictors among Mauritian mothers with the following objectives: (1) to elucidate breastfeeding practices, in terms of initiation, exclusivity, and termination, and the factors influencing them; (2) to determine the time when weaning starts, the challenges met by mothers, and the type of weaning adopted. 2. Methods 2.1. Study Design and Data Collection. A survey-based study was conducted on a group of 500 mothers in 2011 (from August 2011 to January 2012) to elicit information about infant feeding practices by the use of a properly designed questionnaire given to mothers in Area Health Centres (AHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) both in rural and urban areas of the island. Research has been granted approval by the University Research Ethics Committee, and prior consents were obtained from all participants. breastfeeding, the termination of breastfeeding, as well as the main problems encountered during breastfeeding. (iii (...truncated)