Breast feeding and nutritional status in depressed urban areas of greater manila, Philippines

Abstract

Marasmic infants were weaned from the breast earlier than nutritionally normal infants in depressed areas of Greater Manila, Philippines. However, bottle feeding was not a statistically significant cause of malnutrition in a sample of 513 six to forty‐eight month old children. Marasmic children were affected by other significant variables such as monther's education, birth order, morbidity, parental employment, and family stability.

Among six to twelve‐month‐old infants, mean weight for age of those bottle‐fed or weaned by two months was slightly greater than for those still breast‐fed, although both groups were severely malnourished. Incidence of bottle feeding was highest in depressed neighborhoods in which the nutritional status of infants was highest.

Because poor urban Filipina mothers, with an average sixth grade education, do bottle‐feed as adequately as they breast‐feed, they could theoretically feed their infants well if instead of purchasing milk they breast‐fed and used the savings to buy weaning foods.

Key words:

• breast‐feeding
• nutritional status
• socioeconomic determinants
• depressed urban areas
• developing countries