Use of powdered formula and incidence of underweight among infants of educated and uneducated mothers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

The duration of usage of a tin of powdered formula and the incidence of underweight among 250 infants 14 days to 12 months old, whose parents were educated and uneducated, are reported. Twenty-two percent of the educated mothers and 42% of the uneducated mothers started their infants on formula from the 14th day of life. Only 6% of all the mothers exclusively breastfed for 1 month, and a meager 2% of the uneducated mothers exclusively breastfed for 3 months. There was a significant (p less than 0.001) increase in the duration of usage of a tin of powdered formula among the uneducated mothers as compared to the educated ones. Of the 250 infants, 93 (37.2%) greater than or equal to 1 month old were assessed as underweight for age. Most of the underweight infants had uneducated mothers. Practical ways of improving feeding practices and curbing early introduction of supplementary feeds are suggested.