Impact of Physicians on Infant Feeding Patterns

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify information sources influencing infant feeding patterns in middle-to-upper socioeconomic status Anglo-American mothers.Ninety-eight middle-to-upper socioeconomic status Anglo-American mothers completed ≤ 5 interviews in the first year post-partum to determine sources of information on feeding practices. Interviews were conducted in the subject's home one to four months apart. Forty-seven percent cited the physician as the most important source of information on their initial interview, 5% cited the nurse, and 14% relied on their own experience. Twenty-six percent of the subjects cited the physician as the major source of feeding information at every interview. Subjects who never breast fed were more likely to cite the physician as the most important source of information in the initial interview, and were more likely to add weening foods to the child's diet prior to the initial interview. The mothers increased reliance on their own experience in the second half of the first year post-partum. Use of magazines and books for feeding information remained high throughout the first year. This study indicates that the role of the physician in infant feeding decisions is substantial among middle-to-upper socioeconomic status Anglo-American women, but that these women are also making independent decisions on feeding using their own experience as well as secondary sources of information, especially literary sources.