WEANING IN BUTAJIRA, SOUTH ETHIOPIA - A STUDY ON MOTHERS KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE

A descriptive cross sectional study on mothers' knowledge and practice related to weaning was conducted in Butajira in 1994. A total of 1,54 3 mother-child pair were included in the study, of which 1,052 (68%) c hildren were on weaning diet and 491 (32%) were exclusively breastfeed ing. Among children who were already weaned, 40% were reported to have been started on weaning food at the age of 4-6 months. Of the childre n who were reported to be exclusively breastfeeding, 34% were beyond t he age of 7 months. The most commonly used weaning foal were cow's mil k, adult food, sorghum water and cereal gruel in descending order and the most important reasons for mothers to start weaning were reduction of the amount of breast milk and mothers' belief that the child is at the right age to start weaning food. The majority of the mothers used ''swallow or suffocate'' method in feeding their children, though cup s and bottles were also mentioned as important feeding methods. The st udy demonstrated the presence of inappropriate weaning practice in the area which needs appropriate intervention.