The Infant Feeding Practices in an Urban Slum of Nagpur, India

Background and Objective: The feeding practices during infancy are of critical importance for the growth and the development of children. Recent studies have reported that wrong feeding practices are widely prevalent in the urban slums. With this background, this study was conducted to assess the infant feeding practices in an urban slum and to determine the the factors which influenced it. Materials and Methods: A community based, cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban slum of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India during June 2011 to December 2011. The study variables which were used were the mother's religion, occupation, education, the place of delivery, the type of delivery, the sex and the age of the baby, the antenatal clinic registration, breast feeding, weaning, knowledge of the mothers, etc. For the statistical analysis, the Fisher's exact test was used. Results: Out of the 384 enrolled mothers, 125(32.56%) mothers had started breast feeding within 1 hour after their deliveries. Colostrum was given by 82(21.38%) mothers. Exclusive breast feeding for 6 months was given by 142(36.84%) mothers. The practice of exclusive breast feeding was more in the literate mothers and in mothers who were informed by the health personnel. This was statistically significant. Conclusion: Inappropriate feeding practices are common in an urban slum of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.