[Breast feeding and dietary supplementation].

This study was conducted in five health centers of the Secretariat of Health of the State of São Paulo, in the city of Ribeirão Preto, during July 1983. In order to ascertain feeding practices, interviews were given to 389 mothers at the time of their children's enrollment in the food supplement program. Contradictions were observed between the objectives and implementation of the breast-feeding promotion program in view of the high number of children enrolled in the milk supplement program prior to reaching six months of age, and the number of those under three months who were partially or completely breast-fed and were also being enrolled in the supplement program. The major reasons given by mothers for early weaning were that they had insufficient milk or their "milk had dried up", followed by the mother's need to work outside the home, and mammary causes. Maintaining breast-feeding up to the time of enrollment of the child in the milk supplement program was associated with mothers who were multiparous and had had previous experience with breast-feeding.