HOME > EDICIONES > Año 2005, Volumen 55 - Número 1
Trabajos de Investigación
Creencias maternas, prácticas de alimentación y estado nutricional en niños Afro-Colombianos
Beatriz Eugenia Alvarado, Rosa Elizabeth Tabares, Helene Delisle, Maria-Victoria Zunzunegui
Grupo AntroPacífico. Unidad de Epidemiología Clínica. Universidad del Cauca. Popayán, Colombia, Département de Nutrition. Université de Montréal. Montreal, Québec, Canadá. Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive. Université de Montréal. Montreal, Québec, Canadá
|
SUMMARY
Maternal beliefs, feeding practices and nutritional status in Afro-Colombian infants
This study describes maternal practices and beliefs on children feeding and their relationship with nutritional status of Afro-Colombian children aged 6 to 18 months. We combined ethnographic and epidemiological data. We collected information using a food frequency questionnaire. Nine focus groups and 5 deep interviews to mothers of children less than 2 years of age were performed. Our data showed a prevalence of wasting of 2.6% (< -2 SD weight-for-length) and prevalence of stunting of 9.8% (<-2 SD height-for-age). These practices are characterized by a universal onset of breastfeeding, that lasted 10 months in average, and an early introduction of complementary food (mean: 3 months). Breastfeeding is a cultural norm. Weaning is related to new pregnancy, to low milk production and to negative effects of breast process on mothers' health. Early complementary feeding and bottle-feeding are highly valued due to their positive effect on nutritional status and adaptation of children to adult-type diets. The introduction of complementary food after 4 months, the quality of the first food introduced and the diversity of complementary food predicted better nutritional status (p< 0.05). We conclude that nutritional illiteracy and mothers' erroneous beliefs result in 50% of the mothers having inadequate feeding practices. We suggest focused interventions on those beliefs limiting good practices.
Key words: Feeding practices, Nutritional status, Infants, Afro-Colombian.
Recibido: 31/05/2004
Aceptado: 17/03/2005
 |
PRIVACIDAD | ACCESIBILIDAD
ALAN-VE ISSN 0004-0622 - Depósito Legal: pp 199602DF83
Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nutrición
Producción editorial en Venezuela: Capítulo Venezolano - RIF: J-30843129-0
Urbanización Santa María, primera transversal, No. 417-214, Planta Alta
Tele-Fax: (+58-212) 283.8618
E-mail info@alanrevista.org
Código Postal: 1070
Caracas - Venezuela |
|
|
Ir al principio