Evalutaion of breastmilk and complementary feeding status in infancy

Introduction and Purpose: Nutrition; It is the most fundamental factor in the healthy growth and development of the infant. The effects of malnutrition behaviors in this critical period of life affect the whole life. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that babies be fed with breast milk alone in the first month, complementary feeding after the sixth month, and continued breastfeeding for 2 years. According to the Turkish Demographic and Health Surveys, the duration of exclusive breastfeeding is low and early initiation of complementary feeding is a common practice. In this study, it was aimed to determine only breast milk intake, complementary feeding status and to examine the effective factors in infants. Materials and Methods: 200 infants aged 6-24 months who applied to Manisa Celal Bayar University Medical Faculty Hospital Pediatric Clinics between March 2020 and March 2021 were included in the study. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, breastfeeding characteristics and transition to complementary feeding were collected with the questionnaire applied to the mothers. All statistical analyzes were performed using the SPSS 22.0 program. Results: A total of 200 children aged between 6-24 months were included in the study. The mean age of the cases was 12.9±5.1 months. 97.5% of the cases were breastfed, but 17% were fed with other liquids after delivery. The mean duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 3.2±2.3 months. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months was 24%. 62.1% of the cases continued to receive breast milk. The mean age of weaning was 8.2±6.3 months. The mean age of starting complementary feeding was 5.1 ± 1.3 months (2-12 months). Complementary nutrition was given to 116 (58%) cases before 6 months and 11% (5.5%) before 4 months. There was no significant relationship between breast-feeding alone for the first 6 months and the sex of the child, type of delivery, birth weight, and mother's education level. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months; While there was a significant difference between mothers receiving breastfeeding counseling (p=0.010), there was no significant relationship between receiving prenatal breastfeeding education. 18.3% of housewife mothers and 32.8% of working mothers breastfed alone for the first 6 months. A significant relationship was found between the work of mothers and breastfeeding alone in the first 6 months (p:0.023). 28% of families with a monthly income above the minimum wage, 12.7% of those with a minimum wage, and 27.6% of those with a monthly income below the minimum wage received breast milk alone for the first 6 months. A significant relationship was found between the monthly income of the families and the exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months (p:0.047). There was no significant relationship between the duration of breastfeeding of the children included in the study and the gender of the child, educational status of the mother, employment status of the mother, monthly income of the family, and receiving breastfeeding education/consultancy of the mother. There was no significant relationship between the time of initiation of complementary feeding in the children included in the study and the gender of the child, the education level of the mother, the work of the mother, and the monthly income of the family. Those who stated that they received information about complementary feeding from the doctor started at an average of 5.5±1.0 months, those who stated that they obtained it from a nurse at an average of .5±1.2 months, and family and friends at 5.0±1.4 months. A significant relationship was found between the source of information about complementary feeding and the time to start complementary feeding (p= 0.023). Conclusions: While the tendency of mothers to breastfeed after birth is high, the rates of breastfeeding alone in the first 6 months are not sufficient. Breast milk is stopped early and complementary feeding is started early. There is a need for more comprehensive studies on breastfeeding and complementary feeding.