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Knowledge centre for MBA students. |
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Practice of Weaning in Children under two years in Urban India Dr Kala Krishnan Preamble Weaning means the addition of other foods to a diet of
just milk from the breast or the bottle on which the baby has been fed since birth.
This term also refers to the process of starting and acclimating the baby to
solid foods. Weaning should be started when the infant is about four
months of age and completed by the time he/she is about nine months. The type
of food that the baby is started on will depend partly on the doctor’s advice
and partly on family habits. Nutritional disorders result from deficiency or excess of
any nutrients. But, in India, the majority of problems are related to
deficiency rather than excess. The most important reasons being poverty is,
ignorance and illiteracy. Malnutrition is a major pediatric problem and it is
responsible for high rates of morbidity and mortality. Following are the
major causes for malnutrition: inadequate diet, chronic vomiting, diarrhea
and infections, congenital diseases, faulty feeding and prolonged
breast-feeding. To highlight further on weaning habits a study was
conducted, the results of which are there for all to see. The Data This study is based on primary data collected from two
Government Hospitals in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, namely, Kilpauk Medical
College Hospital and Institute of Child Health Hospital. The respondents (mothers of children between 8 months and 24
months) were contacted randomly. Thus, the method of data collection was
through direct personal interview method. Totally, 100 such informants have
been contacted. Please note that the respondents fall under very
low-income category. Major Observations and Findings of
the Study ·
83 per cent of the children had a normal birth weight
and 10 children had low birth weight. ·
Majority of the children (64 per cent) fall under the
weight group of 5 to 7 kilos, followed by the weight group 8 to 10 kilos where 33
per cent fall under. ·
As far as the height of the children studied are
concerned, 33 of them had a height in between 71 to 75 centimeters, 27 per cent fall
under the height group of 66 to 70 cent meters, 24 are in 76 to 80 centimeter
group and 11 in the 60 to 65 centimeter
group. ·
In the study sample, majority (65 per cent) of the
children had head circumference in between 41 to 45 centimeters. ·
In immunization details, about 91 per cent of the
children have been given all the three dosages of polio and it was 86 per cent in
the case of DPT. BCG was given to 94 per cent of sample and 69 per cent of
them were immunized against measles. ·
Three children were not breast fed from birth due to
congenital problem. ·
In many cases breast-feeding was continuing. ·
Most of the mothers have started weaning between 4 to
6 months. ·
Majority of the children are receiving adult foods. Only
few receive some specially made food. Many prefer a combination of
home made and formula foods. ·
19 children had health problems when weaning was
introduced, the major problems being vomiting and diarrhea. ·
71 per cent of the children had/have respiratory
infections and 28 per cent has/have ineffective diseases. Recommendations ·
Mothers have to be educated about: the importance of
breast feeding, proper time to start weaning, advice against indulging in harmful
feeding practice and family planning (if they have more than two children). ·
There is a Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in
Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Similar kind of centres may be started in these lines in the
study area. ·
A Health and Nutrition Survey may be conducted in
Chennai. If conducted, it may be highly useful for the policy making purposes and to
prevent malnutrition. ·
The Government can create crèches; preferably at free
of cost, for low-income group of people, which may be highly useful in the
families where both husband and wife are working. Concluding Remarks This study, which is preliminary in nature, if extended to
other areas (semi-urban and rural) with larger sample size, including other
income groups and covering other aspects, such as, social and economic
aspects and their influence on weaning practice, may yield results which may
be highly useful for a better understanding of the subject and for the policy
makers to arrive at an appropriate policy decision, which may in turn lead to
superior weaning practices in the nation. |
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