ABSTRACT
The influence of some demographic factors on the pattern of weaning was evaluated by interviewing mothers of 418 infants aged 2 months up to 2 years old. These mothers were attending 3 health care centers in Ismailia City. Among the interviewed mothers, 5% practiced gradual weaning. The risk of abrupt weaning was more among rural, illiterate, and non working mothers. The main age of introducing food supplements was 4-6 months which was significantly associated with urban and highly educated mothers. The majority of mothers [76%] began weaning by semisolid foods. Majority of mothers [84.9%] preferred starting weaning with a single type of food. The main definition of weaning was adding supplementary food [89% of rural and 58.6% of urban mothers] with significant difference. The main source of knowledge about weaning for both urban and rural mothers is grand mothers