Feeding practices among children under one year of age admitted to a public hospital

• Published in: Enfermería global 2019-01, Vol.18 (1), p.488-498
• Main Authors: Santos, Floriacy Stabnow, Silva, Antonio Felipe Britoda, Lima, Janete Pereira da Silva, Fontoura, Volmar Moraes, Santos, Francisca Aline Araes Sampaio, Neto, Marcelino Santos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Babies; Baby foods; Breastfeeding & lactation; Diet; Hospitalization; Nutrition; Patient admissions
• ISSN: 1695-6141
• DOI: 10.6018/eglobal.18.1.301541

Introduction: Food is an important factor to ensuring the existence, growth and development of a child. Objectives; to identify the socioeconomic profile of children under one year of age hospitalized in a public hospital in the country side of Maranhâo and of their mothers; to know the complementary feeding given tby mothers and their history of breastfeeding. Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative research conducted between February and September 2015. Data were collected through forms applied to mothers, and the sample comprised 174 individuals. Results; 62.7% of the children were male, 42.5% were 1 to 4 months old, 55.7% were hospitalized with respiratory problems, their mothers were housewives aged between 15 and 35 years. The data showed that children received liquids, artificial milk and food precociously, and only 20.1% had practiced exclusive breastfeeding until the sixth month. Conclusion: The children under one year of age have an inadequate eating pattern. Therefore, actions that promote the practice of healthy feeding are necessary.