Feeding in the first month of life, by social strata, in Córdoba, Argentina.

Abstract

A study was made of the feeding history from birth to 1 month of age in a cohort of children born and residing in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, in 1993. The sample was divided into six social strata, in accordance with the occupation of the individual primarily responsible for family support. A total of 620 mothers were surveyed 1 month (mean = 31 days; SD = 1.2 days) following delivery in order to obtain information on the occupational, housing, and demographic characteristics of the family. In addition, information was collected on the first food given to infants following birth as well as on the type of food received at 1 month of age, the latter being based on 24-hour recall. The living conditions and demographic characteristics of the families were associated with their social strata. Families in Stratum I (high) and strata II and III (intermediate) tended to have higher standards of living and to have parents who were older when the children were born than did families in the lowest strata (V and VI), while families in Stratum IV tended to approach the average values found for the entire sample. With regard to feeding practices, it was found that 98% of the children had begun breast-feeding during the first week of life. A statistical association was observed between first food and social strata, with breast-feeding being more prevalent among the very low strata (V and VI) and use of bottle feeding being more prevalent in strata I and III. At 1 month of age, 26% of the sample was receiving complete natural breast-feeding, 60% was receiving partial natural breast-feeding, and 14% was being entirely bottle-fed. A significant association (P < 0.05) was observed between type of breast-feeding and social strata, with a figure of 38% complete natural breast-feeding recorded for Stratum I as compared to 16% for Stratum IV and 17% for Stratum V. Other findings of this study that stood out were that a high percentage of children in all the strata were initially breast-fed; a high percentage of the children were given breast-milk substitutes during the first month of life; and a low prevalence of complete natural breast-feeding was observed at 1 month of age.