ABSTRACT
Background: Breast milk is the best food for infants because it provides the baby with basic nutritional needs
Objective: To determine the factors affecting the use of artificial milk in children under one year referred to artificial milk commissions
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed on 186 infants under one year who were referred to artificial milk committee in Aran-Bidgol County [Kashan, Iran] in 2009. Data were collected using a questionnaire with 43 questions over demographic information associated with mother and infant, start of feeding, infant's health and behavior, type of pregnancy and birth, mother's condition and family planning, start of feeding, and history of previous lactation. Data were analyzed by chi square test
Findings: The most frequent causes for use of artificial milk were slow growth [51.1%], multiple birth [14.5%], doctor's recommendation [10.8%], infant's inability to breastfeed [10.2%], infant's illness [5.9%], mother's illness [4.8%], adoption [2.2%], and parents' separation [0.5%]. There was a statistically significant relationship between lactation and type of delivery, mother's motivation, need for after-delivery care, baby-friendly maternity unit, and use of pacifier [P<0.05]. No significant relationship between breastfeeding and mother's drug use, infant's illness, mother's employment, mother's education, and mother's breast condition was found
Conclusion: According to our findings, it seems that training and encouraging pregnant mothers for natural delivery and breastfeeding, and also establishing higher numbers of baby-friendly maternity hospitals can lead to considerable decrease in use of artificial milk