Child feeding and toddler mortality in West Nigeria

Abstract

A study was conducted in the rural Yoruba Nigeria villages with the following objectives: to determine child mortality rates present child feeding practices household dietary practices and beliefs about appropriate foods for infants; to determine whether age of respondent and child feeding practices are related to child mortality; to determine whether child feeding practices differ according to the mothers ages; to determine based on the above whether alternative dietary practices are desirable and what alternatives might be compatible with present practices and beliefs; and to discover what communication methods could be used in a nutrition education program. 11 Yoruba villages located around the cities of Ife and Iwo in the rain forest belt of Western Nigeria were chosen for the study in 1969. In each village all households were included in the sample and in each household the 1st woman encountered was chosen for interview providing that she had been married at some time in her life. 90 women in 4 Ife villages and 84 women in 7 Iwo villages were interveiwed. Because there are seasonal variations in the availability and consumption of foods interviews were held over the 12 months of 1969. Most of the women interviewed were of child bearing age: 83% were from 16-45 years old and the remaining 17% were 46 years of age or older. Nearly all of the wives worked ouside the home. Only 32 women (18%) had ever gone to school. Very few women had access to radio programs. A larger proportion of women said that they had watched a film at least once. Only 16 women had ever been contacted on the subject of child care and feeding by change agents most of whom were nurses. Breastfeeding was the most common method of feeding infants for the first 2-4 years. Most respondents had weaned their children between the 2nd and 3rd birthdays. The most common method of weaning was to make snacks available to the child and to allow him/her to voluntarily give up the breast. 52% of all respondents who had weaned a child said they used this method. The most frequently mentioned weaning food was bread. Others were eggs peanuts sweets rice beans corn pap and milk. Some form of animal or pulse protein was served at almost every meal. For the 164 women of the sample who had given birth the average number of live births was 3.2. On the average each woman lost 1 child (.96 deaths/woman). About 1/3 of these deaths occurred in the 1st year of life but over 1/2 occurred from the ages of 1-4 years. An interpersonal rather than a mass media approach to change would prove effective.