Table 5. Comparison of the mothers' compliance with the WHO recommendations on child feeding practices according to various demographic factors1) .
| Variables | Early initiation of breastfeeding (n = 250) | Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 mon (n = 179) | Continued breastfeeding for at least 1 yr (n = 106) | Introduction of complementary foods at 6th mon (n = 180) | Minimum meal frequency (n = 180) | Introduction of cow's milk at ≥ 12 mon (n = 103) | Introduction of honey at ≥ 12 mon (n = 116) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes, n (%) | Yes, n (%) | Yes, n (%) | Yes, n (%) | Yes, n (%) | Yes, n (%) | Yes, n (%) | ||
| Age of mother (yrs) | ||||||||
| 18–34 | 89 (87.3) | 92 (86.0) | 80 (86.0) | 117 (85.4) | 138 (86.8) | 27 (81.8) | 72 (86.7) | |
| 35–43 | 13 (12.7) | 15 (14.0) | 13 (14.0) | 20 (14.6) | 21 (13.2) | 6 (18.2) | 11 (13.3) | |
| P-value2) | 0.519 | 0.5813) | 0.308 | 0.418 | 0.329 | 0.553 | 0.393 | |
| Educational level | ||||||||
| Primary school | 41 (40.2) | 33 (30.8) | 2 (15.4) | 42 (30.7) | 38 (23.9) | 8 (24.2) | 20 (24.1) | |
| High school and over | 61 (59.8) | 74 (69.2) | 11 (84.6) | 95 (69.3) | 121 (76.1) | 25 (75.8) | 63 (75.9) | |
| P-value2) | 0.045 | 0.319 | 0.430 | 0.231 | 0.000 | 0.0003) | 0.0003) | |
| Working status | ||||||||
| Working | 15 (14.7) | 16 (15.0) | 0 (0.0) | 18 (13.1) | 26 (16.4) | 3 (9.1) | 11 (13.3) | |
| Housewives | 87 (85.3) | 91 (85.0) | 13 (100.0) | 119 (86.9) | 13 (83.6) | 30 (90.9) | 72 (86.7) | |
| P-value2) | 0.3713) | 0.5113) | 0.207 | 0.455 | 0.030 | 0.542 | 0.175 | |
| Information source | ||||||||
| Family elders | 41 (40.2) | 26 (24.3) | 2 (15.4) | 36 (26.3) | 45 (28.3) | 9 (27.3) | 18 (21.7) | |
| Mass media | 23 (22.5) | 18 (16.8) | 5 (38.5) | 20 (14.6) | 32 (20.1) | 7 (21.2) | 16 (19.3) | |
| Health personnel | 38 (37.3) | 63 (58.9) | 6 (46.2) | 81 (59.1) | 82 (51.6) | 17 (51.5) | 49 (59.0) | |
| P-value4) | 0.216 | 0.002 | 0.468 | 0.000 | 0.006 | 0.514 | 0.021 | |
| Sex of baby | ||||||||
| Girl | 44 (43.1) | 51 (47.7) | 6 (46.2) | 66 (48.2) | 82 (51.6) | 18 (54.5) | 39 (47.0) | |
| Boy | 58 (56.9) | 56 (52.3) | 7 (53.8) | 71 (51.8) | 77 (48.4) | 15 (45.5) | 44 (53.0) | |
| P-value2) | 0.018 | 0.302 | 0.529 | 0.167 | 0.302 | 0.1893) | 0.8153) | |
| Gestational week | ||||||||
| ≤ 37 | 15 (14.7) | 17 (15.9) | 2 (15.4) | 20 (14.6) | 26 (16.4) | 6 (18.2) | 12 (14.5) | |
| 38–42 | 78 (76.5) | 76 (71.0) | 9 (69.2) | 96 (70.1) | 110 (69.2) | 24 (72.7) | 57 (68.7) | |
| > 42 | 9 (8.8) | 14 (13.1) | 2 (15.4) | 21 (15.3) | 23 (14.5) | 3 (9.1) | 14 (16.8) | |
| P-value4) | 0.491 | 0.907 | 0.994 | 0.195 | 0.624 | 0.2193) | 0.2383) | |
| Birth weight (g) | ||||||||
| < 2,500 | 4 (3.9) | 6 (5.6) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (3.6) | 13 (8.2) | 1 (3.0) | 4 (4.8) | |
| 2,500–4,199 | 93 (91.2) | 95 (88.8) | 11 (84.6) | 126 (92.0) | 141 (88.7) | 29 (87.9) | 76 (91.6) | |
| ≥ 4,200 | 5 (4.9) | 6 (5.6) | 2 (15.4) | 6 (4.4) | 5 (3.1) | 3 (9.1) | 3 (3.6) | |
| P-value4) | 0.541 | 0.103 | 0.110 | 0.004 | 0.031 | 0.854 | 0.370 | |
| The number of living siblings | ||||||||
| 1 | 37 (36.3) | 36 (33.6) | 3 (23.1) | 47 (34.3) | 61 (38.4) | 6 (18.2) | 23 (27.7) | |
| ≥ 2 | 65 (63.7) | 71 (66.4) | 10 (76.9) | 90 (65.7) | 98 (61.6) | 27 (81.8) | 60 (72.3) | |
| P-value2) | 0.392 | 0.7113) | 0.9063) | 0.431 | 0.030 | 0.3743) | 0.6273) | |
Bold font used to indicate a statistically significant result.
WHO, world health organization.
1)The table only includes information on mothers who complied with the WHO recommendations.
2)P-values obtained using Fisher's exact test.
3)continuity correction.
4)P-values obtained using χ2 test.