Breast feeding and co-morbidities on mothers and infants in two main hospitals of Diyala Province, Baquba, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Breast milk was the full required physiological food of human infants. Optimally initiation of immediate breastfeeding exclusively after birth until 6 months of infant age, and keeping infant on breastfeeding with age dependent and appropriately introducing complementary foods to the age of to two or longer. Objective: To investigate the feeding cost and relationship between the feeding types in the first year of infant life, and infant morbidity. Patients and Methods: It was a descriptive cross sectional study done in Al-Batool teaching hospital and Al-Zahra hospital of Diyala province during the period from October 2014 to March 2015, 100 cases of infant at one year of age have be included in the study regardless of medical reason of hospital admission, divided into three groups of infants breast feeding exclusively, bottle feeding exclusively and mixed type of both bottle and breast feeding. This study is considered as to investigate the relationship between feeding type in the first year of infant life, and infant and maternal co-morbidities. Results: One hundred cases were included in the study, 51 males infant and 49 females included in the sample, according to feeding type the study revealed that31 breast feeding, 34 bottle feeding, 35 mixed feeding. The current study demonstrate that 69 delivered by section among them 14 breast feeding, 32 bottle feeding and 22 mixed feeding while 31 delivered by normal vaginal delivery including 15 breast feeding, 9 bottle feeding and 7 mixed feeding only. Regarding post partum maternal weight loss we found 81 had significant weight loss among them 30 breast feeding, 15 bottle feeding and 16 mixed feeding. According to the study of fetal diseases demonstrated that 68 infant developed diarrhea among them 14 breast feeding,29 bottle feeding and 25 mixed feeding , 47 had urinary tract infection 9 of them breast feeding 20 had bottle feeding, 32 infant had constipation five of them breast feeding , 14 bottle feeding and 13 mixed feeding. Conclusion: The duration of breastfeeding showed a decline with decreasing maternal age, multiparous with low level of education living in rural communities with low socio-economic class were more likely to breastfeed, indicating that economic and experience status highly influencing feeding choice to review our studies on breastfeeding.