Quantity and Quality of Human Milk Produced by Low Socio-Economic Rural Mothers in Central Region

Abstract

Breastfeeding is found to be practiced among the rural poor in the Central Region, in Nakornpathom, Rachburi and Kanchanaburi Provinces. Among 33 mothers studied, 78.8 percent started breastfeeding within 2 days after normal delivery and 93.9 percent intended to continue feeding until their infants were upto 12-18 month-old. Regardless of such satisfactory practice and attitude of the mothers, it was found that their dietary intake was very low, quantitatively and qualitatively, i.e. the mothers received only 54.2 percent energy and 63.6 percent protein of RDA. As for dietary they received only 29.2 percent of total caloric intake. And their vitamins and minerals intakes were found to be very low. Thus the infants received only 147.9 caloric intake daily or 27.25 percent of the RDA, while their daily protein intake was only 5.3 grams or 47.74 percent of RDA, resulting in low average weight of 0.5-4.0 month- old infants i.e. 5.43±0.07 Kg.