Types of drinks consumed by infants at 4 and 8 months of age: sociodemographic variations

Aim To investigate the variations in sociodemographic characteristics of mo thers in relation to the types of milk and supplementary drinks consumed by their infants at 4 and 8 months of age. Study design The carers of a randomly chosen population sample of over 1000 infants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPA C) were asked to record all foods and drinks consumed by the child in a 24- h period at both 4 and 8 months of age. Self-completion postal questionnair es were used to ascertain sociodemographic characteristics of the mothers a nd their infants. Methods Significant differences in the types of milks and supplementary dri nks consumed within sociodemographic groups were identified. Infants were a lso grouped according to the types of milks they were receiving at each age and further differences in sociodemographic characteristics were investiga ted. Results Highly significant differences existed among various sociodemograph ic characteristics with regard to the types of drinks used at both ages. Ma ternal educational level was the most influential of the sociodemographic v ariables in explaining the differences in consumption of all types of drink s given at 4 months, in particular for breast milk use. Maternal age was al so significantly associated with breast feeding. The use of fruit drinks wa s significantly associated with the presence of older siblings in the famil y and the use of herbal drinks with the duration of breast feeding. At 8 mo nths of age maternal educational level tvas again the most highly associate d of the sociodemographic variables, being significantly associated with th e use of most of the drinks. The presence of older siblings also had a sign ificant independent effect as did duration of breast feeding. The feeding o f cows' (or animal) milk as a main drink at 8 months, contrary to recommend ation, was most likely in the group of mothers with vocational education, t hose in council accommodation, those with two or more children and those wi th difficulty affording food. Conclusion We have identified certain characteristics of mothers who were m ore likely than others not to follow current recommendations on infant feed ing. The educational level of mothers appears to be of major significance i n the choices made about the types of drinks given to infants. It may be po ssible to target information about infant feeding to certain groups of moth ers thus improving weaning patterns.