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Table 3 presents the distribution of mothers in different localities according to reasons they gave for weaning their infants. There were two groups of reasons-those related to the mother and those related to the infant. Reasons related to the mother were insufficiency of breast milk, beginning of a new pregnancy, the desire to become pregnant, inability to buy fresh or dried milk, psychological or emotional reasons, or the mother's illness. Reasons related to the infant were that it became old enough to be able to eat the usual family diet, or that it no longer wanted to be fed from the breast.
TABLE 3. Reasons for Weaning, by Locality
| Reasons Related to the Infant No. (%) |
Reasons Related to the Mother No. (%) |
Total | |
| Rural | |||
| Edfo37 | (36.3) | 65(63.7) | 102 |
| Sanhoure48 | (47.5) | 53(52.5) | 101 |
| El-Shobak el-Gharby20 | (40~0) | 30(60.0) | 50 |
| Total105 | (41.5) | 148(58.5) | 253 |
| Urban | |||
| Masr el-Kadema MCH Centre50 | (65.8) | 26(34.2) | 76 |
| Heliopolis MCH Centre78 | (77.2) | 23(22.8) | 101 |
| Heliopolis Day-Care Centre43 | (86.0) | 7(14.0) | 50 |
| Total171 | (75.3) | 56(24.7) | 227 |
| Total rural and urban276 | (57.5) | 204(42.5) | 480 |
x2 total rural and total urban = 56.02, P < 0.001.
TABLE 4. Weaning Techniques, by Locality
| Rural No.(%) |
Urban No. (%) |
Total | |
| Keeping infant
off breast by discouragement |
217(85.8) | 120(52.9) | 337 |
| Gradual substitution | 3(1.2) | 66(29.1) | 69 |
| Separation of infant and mother | 24(9.5) | 11(4.8) | 35 |
| No special technique | 9(3.6) | 30(13.2) | 39 |
| Total | 253(100) | 227(100) | 480 |
x2 total rural and total urban = 100.46, P < 0.001.
Mothers who gave reasons related to the infants constituted 75.3 per cent of the sample in urban areas and 41.5 per cent of those in rural areas. Those who gave reasons related to the mother represented 24.7 per cent in the urban and 58.5 per cent in the rural areas.
Weaning Techniques
Table 4 shows different weaning techniques by locality. The most common techniques were those aimed at keeping the infant off the breast by discouragement. The chief way of doing this was to rub cactus juice, henna, strong spices, or other bitter or unpleasant-tasting substances onto the nipples. The mother might also scold the infant whenever it expressed a desire to breast-feed or distract it by giving it something to play with. Some mothers altered their dresses by stitching up the side opening originally designed for convenience in feeding or fastened the front of the dress near the neck so the child could not reach the breast. These techniques were more common in rural than in urban areas -85.8 per cent and 52.9 per cent respectively.
Another technique was that of substitution, in which the mother gradually gave the infant semi-solid and solid foods. This was used more commonly by urban than by rural mothers-29.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.
A third approach was separation of the infant from the mother, sending it to relatives for a while until it forgot about breast-feeding. This again was more common in rural areas-9.5 per cent, compared to 4.8 per cent among urban groups.
There was a group of mothers who could not specify any particular method of weaning, and some of them stated that the infant weaned himself. They composed 13.2 per cent of urban samples and 3.6 per cent of rural ones.
Table 5 presents the distribution of mothers according to
income levels and different techniques of weaning. The table
shows that weaning by discouragement was more common in the two
lower-income groups than in the two upper-income groups-82.7 and
74.5 per cent compared to 42.3 and 2.2 per cent respectively.
Gradual substitution was more common in the two higher-income
groups,
compared to the two lower-income groups-82.2 and 26.9 per cent
compared to 8.7 and 4.4 per cent.
Weaning Foods
Preparation of special weaning foods
Table 6 shows the distribution of mothers according to whether
they prepared special weaning foods for their infants in
different localities. A large proportion of the rural mothers did
not prepare any special foods-87
per cent compared to 29.1 per cent of urban mothers.
About 11.9 per cent of urban and 2.4 per cent of rural mothers planned to prepare special foods when they started weaning.
Many more urban mothers prepared special weaning foods than rural mothers-59 per cent compared to 10.7 per cent.
Types of matting foods
Table 7 shows different types of specially prepared weaning foods that mothers used or planned to use, by locality. The main food groups were protein-rich foods of either animal or plant origin; energy-rich foods such as starchy pudding, potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits, and rice; and foods rich in vitamins and minerals, including fruits, such as bananas and oranges, and cooked vegetables. Mixed diets were combinations of the above groups.
TABLE 5. Weaning Techniques, by Per Capita Income
| Income per Capita per Month | Total | ||||||||
| Less than LE 5 | LE 5-LE 10 | LE 10-LE 15 | More than LE 15 | ||||||
| No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | ||
| Keep infat of breast | |||||||||
| discouragement | 05 | 82.7) | 120 | (4.5) | 11 | (42.3) | 1 | (2.2) | 337 |
| Gradual substitution | 11 | (4.4) | 14 | (8.7) | 7 | (26.9) | 37 | (82.2) | 69 |
| Separation in infant | 16 | (6.5) | 13 | (8.1) | 3 | (11.5) | 3 | (6.7) | 35 |
| No special technique | 16 | (6.5) | 14 | (8.7) | 5 | (19.2) | 4 | (8.9) | 39 |
X2 lower-income groups (less than LE 5, and LE 5 to less than LE to per month) and higher-income groups(LE10toLE15,andmorethanLE15permonth)=170.31,P<0.001.
TABLE 6. Use of Special Weaning Foods, by Localities
| No Special Food Prepared | Special Food Prepared | Planned to Prepare Special Food | Total | ||||
| No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | ||
| Rural | |||||||
| Edfo | 102 | (100.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 102 |
| Sanhoure | 82 | (81.2) | 13 | (12.9) | 6 | (5.9) | 101 |
| El-Shobak el Gharby | 36 | (72.0) | 14 | (28.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 50 |
| Total | 220 | (87.0) | 27 | (10.7) | 6 | (2.4) | 253 |
| Urban | |||||||
| Masr el-Kadema MCH Centre | 36 | (47.4) | 36 | (47.4) | 4 | (5.8) | 76 |
| Heliopolis MCH Centre | 30 | (29.7) | 54 | (53.5) | 17 | (16.8) | 101 |
| Heliopolis Day-Care Centre | 0 | (0.0) | 44 | (88.0) | 6 | (12.0) | 50 |
| Total | 66 | (29.1) | 134 | (59.0) | 27 | (11.9) | 227 |
| Total rural and urban | 286 | (59.6) | 161 | (33.5) | 33 | (6.9) | 480 |
x2 total rural and total urban = 166.48. P < 0.001.
TABLE 7. Types of Specially Prepared Weaning Foods Which Mothers Used or Planned to Use, by Locality
Types of Foods |
Total | ||||||||
| Protein-rich foods | foods Starchy | Vegetables and fruits | Mixed diet | ||||||
| No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | ||
| Rural | |||||||||
| Edfo | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 |
| Sanhoure | 4 | (21.0) | 13 | (68.4) | 0 | (00) | 2 | (10.5) | 19 |
| El-Shobak el-Gharby | 0 | (0.0) | 10 | (71.4) | 4 | (28.6) | 0 | (0.0) | 14 |
| Total | 4 | (12.1) | 23 | (67.7) | 4 | (12.1) | 2 | (6.1) | 33 |
| Urban | |||||||||
| Masr el-Kadema MCH Centre | 13 | (32.5) | 20 | (50.0) | 4 | (10.0) | 3 | (7.5) | 40 |
| Heliopolis MCH Centre | 13 | (18.3) | 28 | (39.4) | 5 | (7.0) | 25 | (35.2) | 71 |
| Heliopolis Day-Care Centre | 5 | (10.0) | 1 | (2.0) | 7 | (14.0) | 37 | (74.0) | 50 |
| Total | 31 | (19.3) | 49 | (30.4) | 16 | (9.9) | 65 | (40.4) | 161 |
| Total rural and urban | 35 | (18.0) | 72 | (37.6) | 20 | (10.3) | 67 | (34.5) | 194 |
The table shows that 40.4 per cent of urban mothers and 6.1 per cent of rural mothers gave or planned to give their infants mixed diets. Most of the mothers using mixed diets were from the Heliopolis Day-Care Centre. Of the rural mothers 69.7 per cent most of en used or planned to use starchy foods compared to 30.4 per cent of the urban mothers. Protein-rich foods were commonly used or planned to be used by 19.3 per cent of urban mothers compared to 12.1 per cent of rural mothers. Most mothers in rural areas and those who attended the MCH Centres in Masre Pkadema and Heliopolis used proteins of plant origin, while mothers of infants who attended the Heliopolis Day-Care Centre used mainly animal proteins. Rural mothers from the Edfo area did not prepare any weaning foods. Most of them weaned their infants onto the regular family diet, which is generally poor in protein-rich foods.
TABLE 8. Types of Weaning Foods Especially Prepared or Planned for Infants, by Income per Capita per Month
Types of Foods |
Total | ||||||||
| Protein-rich foods | Starchy foods | Vegetables and fruits | Mixed diet | ||||||
| No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | No. | (%) | ||
| Less than LE 5 | 8 | (11.9) | 43 | (64.2) | 6 | ( 8.9) | 10 | (14.9) | 67 |
| LE 5to LE 10 | 15 | (24.2) | 25 | (40.3) | 4 | ( 6.4) | 18 | (29.0) | 62 |
| LE 10to LE 15 | 8 | (40.0) | 3 | (15.0) | 3 | (15.0) | 6 | (30.0) | 20 |
| More than LE 15 | 4 | ( 8.9) | 1 | ( 2.2) | 7 | (15.5) | 33 | (73.3) | 45 |
| Total | 35 | (18.0) | 72 | (37.1) | 20 | (10.3) | 67 | (34.5) | 194 |
x2 lower-income groups floss than LE 5, and LE 5 to less than LE 10 per month) and higher-income groups {LE 10 to LE 15, and more than LE 15 per month) = 71.29, P < 0.01
Table 8 shows the types of weaning foods which mothers prepared especially, or planned to prepare, according to income levels. The table shows that the two higher-income groups prepared more "mixed foods," 30 and 73.3 per cent, and more protein-rich foods, 40 and 8.9 per cent. Starchy foods were more commonly used among the two lower-income groups, 64.2 and 40.3 per cent, compared to 15 and 2.2 per cent of the higher-income groups.
DISCUSSION
Physical and social environment, culture, and beliefs play strong roles in patterns and practices of infant weaning. The present study revealed some interesting beliefs related to weaning practices among low-income mothers. They believe that it is difficult to wean a child after the appearance of the new moon and that weaning must begin during the last days of the lunar month. Weaning must not be admitted to others immediately but only after a lapse of at least two weeks, for fear of the evil eye. It is also believed that a weaned infant should not be allowed to visit a bride; otherwise she may not be able to become pregnant. It is also interesting to note that unplanned weaning may occur when the mother is emotionally or psychologically upset, for fear of passing on these disturbed emotions to the infant through the breast milk.
The pattern of weaning was different in low socio-economic groups from that in higher-income groups. In rural areas and among most of the low-income mothers in urban localities, the child was introduced to adult foods between the ages of 12 and 24 months, without reducing the number of breast feedings.
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