Symposium†

This is the sixth in a series of articles entitled Symposium on Infant Care and Feeding in Oceania.

: Wage employment and infant feeding: A Papua New Guinea case‡

The study was conducted while the author was a Research Associate at the PNG Institute for Applied Social and Economic Research in Port Moresby. This investigation received financial support from the World Health Organization.

Ninety‐seven nurses and aides who were mothers and full‐time staff at public health care facilities in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, were interviewed about their infant feeding practices, opinions on bottle‐feeding and arrangements for childcare. Only 29% of their 260 children were bottlefed even partially. No statistically significant changes in their feeding practices occurred in 1977, when legislation was passed to make feeding bottles more difficult to obtain. A statistically significant association was found between return to work by six months postpartum and use of supplementary bottles, although a majority of mothers breastfed during nursing breaks or had the caretaker give milk in a cup or solids. Twelve percent used a wet nurse occasionally. Mean age at sevrage for the youngest child was 21 months; fluid in a cup and beikost (weaning food) were usually introduced at 3–4 months. Lactation insufficiency was rarely reported during the first six months postpartum. Bottlefeeding was viewed as appropriate only under highly specific conditions. The high prevalence and long duration of breastfeeding among these employed mothers was supported by a widespread “breast is best” philosophy and government policies facilitating breastfeeding during working hours.

Key words:

• Breastfeeding
• bottlefeeding
• childcare
• employment
• nurses
• Papua New Guinea

Notes

This is the sixth in a series of articles entitled Symposium on Infant Care and Feeding in Oceania.

The study was conducted while the author was a Research Associate at the PNG Institute for Applied Social and Economic Research in Port Moresby. This investigation received financial support from the World Health Organization.