Factors Affecting Infant Feeding Practices Among Women of Baijnath Block of Himachal Pradesh

Feeding practices refer generally to meet nutritional and immunological needs of the baby at different stages of child growth. A study of feeding practices was carried out on a sample of 100 infants in the age group of 5 months to 2 years. The results have revealed that factors like income level and caste of the family, had direct bearing on these practices. Caste was found to have direct impact on foods avoided during lactation and post-natal practices. Use of commercial foods and pre-lacteal feeding given to infants was greatly influenced by the income of the family. Top feeding practices were also having significant association with monthly family income. Health status of lactating mothers, malnourishment and environmental insanitation in the area of child care directly affected the feeding practices in Baijnath block of Himachal Pradesh. among the women of Baijnath were assessed by interview, questionnaire and personal observation method. Appropriate statistical design was used for statistical analysis of data. Chi-square test was applied for analysing the relationship to test the impact of different factors on the feeding practices. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Data presented in the Table 1 depict the descri-ption of the family characteristics of selected villages located in Baijnath block of Himachal Pradesh. They included caste and income of the family. Less than half of the respondents (42%) were scheduled caste and more than half of the respondent families (62%) had an income ranging between Rs. 2001-4000 per month. Table 1: Distribution of sampled households on the basis of family characteristics in Baijnath block of Himachal Pradesh Variables Respondents Caste Scheduled caste 42 Scheduled tribe 15 Backward class 3 Others 40