ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF BREAST-FEEDING IN SUDANESE URBAN AND RURALCOMMUNITIES

The study was designed to investigate attitudes and practices of breas t-feeding in a representative sample of 1039 Sudanese mothers and docu ment corresponding influencing factors in urban and rural communities in six states. Urban mothers were represented by three (high, middle a nd poor) socioeconomic classes. Almost all mothers (99.9%) initiated b reast-feeding, mostly (83.2%) on the first day between 1-5 hours follo wing delivery. Delay of 6 or more hours was practiced mainly by rural mothers (p<0.001). The breast-feeding rate was 92.0% at 7 months and 6 5.0% at one year. Four per cent sill breast-fed at 2 years. Urbanizati on affected frequency, of breast-feeding adversely; whereas the presen ce of sore or retracted nipple had a negative effect on its duration ( P<0.02 and <0.01, respectively). The majority (89.2%) thought that a n ew pregnancy contraindicated the continuation of breast-feeding and 67 .1 % reduced or stopped it if the baby had diarrhoea. On the whole, de spite the rapid demographic shifts which the Sudan had witnessed recen tly, positive attitudes to breast-feeding and its duration were still holding. However, there was a tendency towards shorter duration of bre ast-feeding in urban affluent mothers in comparison to others.