MATERNAL-BEHAVIOR AND SOCIOECONOMIC INFLUENCES ON THE BACTERIAL CONTENT OF INFANT WEANING FOODS IN RURAL NORTHERN THAILAND

The bacterial contamination of infant weaning foods was examined in th e context of a longitudinal study of lactation and infant growth, the Chiang Mai Lactation Study. Sixty-two mother-infant pairs were selecte d by random sampling from a rural area outside the city of Chiang Mai and studied for 48 hours in their homes on six occasions over the firs t year of life, Data on food hygiene practices and maternal factors we re related to the total bacterial count per gram and coliform content of weaning foods. Bottle feeding, premastication, and mashing were sig nificantly related to an increased bacterial content of weaning foods, while boiling foods to make soups, preparing in and feeding from a ba nana leaf, and using boiled water to prepare foods ail reduced their b acterial content. Storage also increased the bacterial contamination i n foods and foods were more highly contaminated in the rainy season. M aternal age and education were also related to some feeding practices. By promoting the feeding of traditional, but less contaminated weanin g foods, an intervention is put forward which would aim to reduce wean ing food contamination and thereby reduce incidence of diarrhoea in th is area of Northern Thailand.