BACKGROUND The nutritional status of infants born to teenage mothers can be sub-optimal compared to those born to older mothers. One contributing factor is inappropriate feeding practices adopted by teenage mothers. Little is known about how infant feeding decisions are made among teenage mothers, particularly in under resourced settings. In this study we prospectively explored autonomy and inf...

BACKGROUND Community-based peer support has been shown to be effective in improving exclusive breastfeeding rates in a variety of settings. METHODS We conducted a cost analysis of a community cluster randomised-controlled trial (Promise-EBF), aimed at promoting exclusive infant feeding in three sites in South Africa. The costs were considered from the perspective of health service providers. ...

Preterm infants develop the skills necessary to begin oral feeding as their health stabilizes and as they reach a postconceptional age that supports coordination of breathing and swallowing with oral-motor functioning. The time from initiation of oral feeding to full oral feedings (with adequate intake for growth and maintenance of physiologic stability) can vary from days to months for the pre...

BACKGROUND Infant feeding practices, including breastfeeding and optimal formula feeding practices, can play a role in the prevention of childhood obesity. The ubiquity of smartphone ownership among women of childbearing age provides important opportunities for the delivery of low-cost, broad reach parenting interventions delivered by mobile phone (mHealth or mobile health interventions). Littl...

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of breast feeding on regional differences in infant mortality in Germany in 1910, when other social, medical, and economic factors are controlled. Around 1910 the infant mortality rate ranged from 78/1000 to 276/1000, and the percentage of infants ever breast fed varied from 25% to 95%. There was a rough correlation of breast feeding with low ...

Using data from India's first National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1), this study examines breast-feeding practices and their effect on infant mortality in India. Conducted in 1992-93, NFHS-1 collected complete birth histories from a probability sample of 89,777 ever-married women aged 13-49 years. In the study, the breast-feeding status of infants at ages 2,7, and 11 months and the effects of...

OBJECTIVES Our goal was to assess the extent to which mothers learn about proper handling of infant formula from health professionals and package labels; mothers' beliefs about the likelihood of germs being in infant formula and the importance of following safe-use directions; whether they take measures while handling infant formula to prevent foodborne illnesses and injury to their infants; an...

This is a study of infant feeding practices of 126 mothers. Seventy-seven mothers or 61.1% practised breast feeding. The typical breast feeding mother was more likely to be a Malay, with lower family income and residing in the rural area. The educational status of the mother was not an important factor in influencing her to breast feed. Health education on breast feeding should be intensified i...