Breast Feeding and Co-morbidities on Mothers and Infants in Two Main Hospitals of Diyala Province, Baquba, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Breast milk is the only food fully adapted to the physiology of human infants. Optimal breastfeeding is defined as initiating breastfeeding immediately after birth exclusively breastfeeding until 6 months of infant age, and continuing breastfeeding with age-appropriate introduction of complementary foods up to age two or longer. Objective: To investigate the relationship between type of feeding in the first year of infant life, and infant morbidity in the same period of infant's age. It focuses on different diseases that affect many infants in spite it could be preventable by very simple and cheap methods. Method and Material: It is a descriptive study done in Al-Batool teaching hospital and Al-Zahra hospital of Diyala province, during the period from October 2012 to March 2013, 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 exclusive breast feeding, bottle feeding and mixed type of both bottle and breast feeding. This study is considered as to investigate the relationship between type of feeding 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, and 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, less educated and multiparous mothers who lived in rural communities and belonged to the low socio-economic class were more likely to breastfeed, breastfeeding patterns and practices need to be re-assessed hopping this review will serve as baseline information for any upcoming longitudinal studies on breastfeeding.