Study on Weaning Practices and Morbidity Status of Infants

Introduction:Weaning is essential for an infant's growth and development.Faulty weaning practices have harmful effects on health and may lead to infant morbidity.Objective: The recent study aimed to assess infants' weaning practice and morbidity status.Methods: The present study was conducted in clinics of Muzaffarpur for infants' morbidity status and weaning practices.Data were collected with the predeveloped questionnaire, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. Result and conclusion:The study's findings reveal that 91% of infant mothers know about the weaning food, while 9% of mothers did not know about the weaning foods.A total of 50% of mothers opted for weaning after 6 months of age, 40% initiated weaning at the recommended age of 6 months, 6.7% started delayed weaning, and 3.3% opted for weaning before 4 months, respectively.Mostly preferred weaning food was dal (49%), followed by Cerelac (26.3%), biscuit with milk (13.6%), and banana shake (11.1%), respectively.The highest morbidity was fever with cold (56.7%), followed by diarrhea (22.8%), vomiting (8.7%), ear infection (6.8%), and other (5%), respectively.A significant correlation was found between infants' morbidity and weaning practices (p < 0.05).The highest morbidity was found in those who initiated weaning after 6 months of age.So, it can be concluded that erroneous weaning practices lead to increased morbidity in infants, and weaning should be initiated at 6 months of age to prevent infant morbidity.