Infant feeding practices and beliefs among women in Podor, West Africa

INFANT FEEDING PRACTICES AND BELIEFS AMONG WOMEN IN PODOR, WEST AFRICA by Heather L. Schwartz This thesis determines and describes infant feeding practices and beliefs amongst women in Podor, West Africa. Structured interviews were used to gather data pertaining to demographics, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and weaning practices and beliefs. The aim of this thesis was to assemble baseline data from which an infant feeding education intervention program could be built. In comparison to the World Health Organization and United Nations Children Fund's guidelines, none of the infant feeding practices reported met their standard. Improvements in infant feeding in this region are vital to improving infant and child morbidity and mortality. Areas of improvement included the timing, adequacy and appropriate introduction of complementary foods, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and the practice of abrupt weaning. An education focused on impacting the beliefs underscoring breastfeeding and weaning practices should be implemented with consideration given to the cultural, social, and traditional aspects of this region.