Breastfeeding and Weaning Practices of Mothers and Infants in Uzbekistan
2001
Semenova, Gulnara | Scrimshaw, Nevin S.
Qualitative data on infant-feeding practices were collected in four urban and four suburban sites in Uzbekistan. The qualitative interviews combined with observation were conducted with 209 women at their households and with 118 health professionals at health-care facilities. Despite finding a high rate of early breastfeeding, the study revealed a series of practices that make it more difficult for mothers to initiate and maintain breastfeeding adequately. These include separation of the mother and child at birth, “prelacteal” feeding of infants, and lack of prenatal instruction in breastfeeding management. In addition, the rigid day feeding schedule required in the hospital, with no night feedings, and the lack of access of the mother to the child for breastfeeding on demand, decreed by former Soviet Union policy, were serious obstacles. Most serious in its ultimate consequences, however, was the large number of mainly subjective indicators used by doctors to conclude that a mother should not breastfeed her infant. Almost none of these were consistent with WHO recommendations or with currently accepted medical practices. Despite these obstacles, nearly all mothers in Uzbekistan successfully breastfeed their infants for at least four to six months and most for much longer. Contrary to local medical beliefs, the mothers are not undernourished. Weight gain during pregnancy and the birthweights of their infants were in the normal range.
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