Attitudes and practices of infant feeding in Zaria, Nigeria

A study to understand the attitudes and feeding practices of infants was done among expectant mothers in an ante‐natal clinic in Zaria, Nigeria. Most of the fathers had poor wages. Illiteracy was high, being greater among the mothers than fathers. Family size was also larger among the poorer families. Childhood mortality increased with family size. Sixty‐six percent of the mothers had used commercial milk formulas. Most mothers offered no reason for this, but other common explanations included insufficient breast milk and that the milk had been bought by the father. Baby foods were often purchased by the poorer income families. The period of breast feeding and method of weaning varied with the mother's education. Nutritious foods like egg and meat were not commonly given to the children because of taboos and ignorance. Poor nutrition was prevalent in the poorer and larger families.