TY  - JOUR
TI  - Breastfeeding status and complementary feeding 
preferences of mothers in children aged 12–36 months: 
Data from a tertiary university hospital
AB  - Objective: The aim of this study was to question the practices of mothers on breastfeeding and complementary feeding (CF) in infancy and early childhood in a babyfriendly university hospital and investigate child- and family-related factors on child 
nutrition practices.
Material and Methods: Mothers of 12–36-months-old babies who applied to Sivas 
Cumhuriyet University Hospital Pediatric Clinic for any reason and had no disease 
that prevented breastfeeding were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics, birth information of the baby, breastfeeding status, and CF practices were 
questioned to the participants.
Results: A total of 245 mothers who had children between 12 and 36 months participated in the study. The mean age of the mothers was 30.5±5.3 years; 54.3% of them 
were housewives. Of the total mothers, 100 were currently actively breastfeeding, and 
145 mothers (59.2%) had stopped breastfeeding. Overall, 98% of all participants had 
breastfed for some time. The rate of breastfeeding in the first hour after birth was 
53.1%. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding (EB) in the first 6 months was 32.2%. There 
was no statistically significant relationship between maternal age, birth week of the 
baby, gender, delivery type, maternal age, maternal education level, maternal employment status, mother’s smoking status, and EB in the first 6 months. The mean duration of breastfeeding in mothers who stopped breastfeeding (n=145) was 13.67±8.73 
months. The median time to start CF was 6 months. The first complementary foods 
given to the children were 37.1% yogurt, 19.6% vegetable puree, 13.5% fruit, and 
13.1% vegetable soup. Early initiation of CF decreased as maternal age increased 
and education level decreased (p<0.05). Smoking mothers started CF earlier.
Conclusion: Although breastfeeding is common in Turkey, EB is not at the desired 
level. For healthy child development, parents must be educated about breast milk, 
breatfeeding, when to start CF, and about food ingredients. In this regard, health 
professionals and social media have important duties as they are the sources of information to families.
AU  - KOMÜRLÜOGLU, AYÇA
AU  - taştanoğlu, hüseyin
DO  - 10.14744/zkmj.2021.59140
PY  - 2022
JO  - Zeynep Kamil medical journal (Online)
VL  - 53
IS  - 2
SN  - 2757-8062
SP  - 80
EP  - 87
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/532999
ER  -