Child feeding patterns and diarrhea

Abstract EN

Objective : To identify the type of feeding patterns and the occurrence of diarrhea among children less than two years old.

Design : Descriptive survey.

Setting : Maternal Child Health Centers, Al-Karak Governorate, Jordan.

Method : Data were collected by using questionnaire; the participants were 523 mothers attending maternal child health centers from 1 June to 13 September 2009.

Result : Two hundred seventy children (52 %) were males.

One hundred eighty-six (36 %) children were exclusively breastfed.

Four hundred seventy mothers (90 %) were between 20-39 years.

Four hundred twenty-four (81 %) mothers had high school and BA degree.

One hundred fifty-two (29) mothers were unemployed.

One hundred forty-one (27 %) had a monthly income less than two hundred JD, more than half of those families practiced breastfeeding.

The most common causes of stopping breast-feeding were child's refusal, insufficient milk and mothers' work.

Two hundred eighty-six (55 %) children had no diarrhea; the majority were among exclusively breast-fed children.

Conclusion : The study revealed that practicing exclusive breastfeeding was low among mothers, and the occurrence of diarrhea was low among breastfed children.