Infant feeding practices of Anglo American and Asian Indian American mothers

Objective: To compare infant feeding practices of Anglo-American (AA) (n=25 ) and Asian-Indian American (AIA) mothers (n=25) residing in the southeaste rn United States. Methods: Feeding practices (breast-feeding, formula-feeding, introduction o f solid foods) were assessed at infant ages one, three, six, nine and twelv e months for a total of 250 interviews conducted in the home. Mothers' sour ces of information about infant feeding practices and dietary intakes of th eir infants were collected (24-hour recalls). Results: Compared to their AIA counterparts, AA mothers breast-fed for sign ificantly longer durations and introduced formula and solid foods into the infants' diet at a later age (p<0.05). Throughout the first year, AA mother s relied primarily upon health professionals for infant feeding information compared to AIA mothers, who sought information primarily from the family network during the first six months and relied more on health professionals during the second six months of the infant's life. Throughout the first tw elve months, infants of both groups exceeded 100% of the RDA for energy, pr otein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Conclusion: Health professionals, including nutrition educators, should edu cate AIA mothers about and encourage AA mothers to follow current feeding r ecommendations and guidelines about breast-feeding, formula-feeding and int roducing solid foods.