OBJECTIVES: to estimate breast feeding rates in Embu, SP, using World Health Organization indicators and to determine the association of "no breastfeeding" and "early introduction of food supplements" with healthcare social and demographic factors. METHODS: analytical household survey, with two-stage systematic cluster sampling, as part of the project "Morbidity and Healthcare Facilities Use: a Survey on Child's Health". Participants - 798 children under three years old, living in Embu in 1996. RESULTS: breast feeding - 95,7% (IC95%: 93,2-98,2) of under one year old infants; exclusive breast feeding - 10,3% (IC95%: 2,9-17,6); predominant breast feeding - 32,3% (IC95%: 23,5-41,2); median breast feeding time: six months. Factors associated to the early introduction of supplements (use of other food, except for water or tea, before 120 days following birth): living in slum areas- OR = 3,70 (IC95%; 2,01-6,81); newborn hospital discharge five days following birth. OR = 6,12 (IC95%: 1,64-22,80); mothers over thirty years of age - OR = 1,70 (IC95%: 1,01-2,86). CONCLUSIONS: groups eligible for priority breast feeding education were determined pointing towards the need of further studies in addition to actions in slum area populations oriented towards prenatal and perinatal care improvement.
Breast feeding; Nutrition surveys; Social indicators; Socioeconomic factors
