[Breast feeding and child care: a case study of 2 rural areas of Mexico]. / Lactancia y cuidado de los hijos: estudio de casos en dos zonas rurales de México.

The present research is included in the fields of public health, social sciences and gender studies. Its objective is to provide insight into the nursing behaviour of two groups of mothers, their domestic and extra-domestic child care arrangements and their attitudes towards breast-feeding. Thirty-five mothers were selected in Malinalco, Mexico, and 35 in the Sierra de Juárez, Oaxaca. Each mother had at least two children and one of them under three years of age. The study was exploratory in its initial phase, subsequently cross-sectional, comparative and prospective. It constitutes a foundation for longitudinal case studies. A pre-coded questionnaire, including the following issues, was administered: family composition; maternal schooling; maternal employment; nursing behaviour with the last child; child care and attitudes towards breast-feeding. The main information regarding 33 mothers in Malinalco and 31 in Oaxaca revealed that in both areas mothers decided how to feed their children during the first days; during the first month, 55 per cent of mothers in Malinalco breast-fed their child, while approximately 90 per cent did so in Oaxaca. The majority of women worked outside home and resorted to extra-domestic arrangements for child care. No relation was found between the feeding method chosen with the last child and maternal employment. About 90 per cent of women in both areas were "happy" to have been born females and breast-feeding was considered a "must". Seventy five per cent of mothers would not allow other women to breast feed their child, even though they were aware that maternal milk is the best.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[The validation of qualitative nutritional indicators: the Guttman Scale vs the customary diet]. / Validación de indicadores cualitativos de alimentación: Escala de Guttman vs dieta habitual.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and feasibility of using the Guttman Scale as an indicator of usual dietary intake. Validation was done by comparing the results of dietary intake of a population obtained by using the Guttman Scale with a well-known method for evaluating dietary intake: the dietary history (one week). The study was done in seven communities in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Results from this study showed a weak correlation between the Guttman Scale with socioeconomic status and nutritional status. However, the results obtained with the dietary history method had a significant relationship with socioeconomic status and nutritional status. The conclusions are that the Guttman Scale has limitations when it is used as an alternative to the dietary history method for evaluating the total caloric intake, though it can be useful to determine dietary patterns of the individual.

[Lactation behavior and delivery care in a group of women from a Mexican rural community]. / Conducta de lactancia y atención del parto en un grupo de mujeres de una comunidad rural Mexicana.

This article presents a brief discussion on the role that "medical practice" plays, related to the type of infant lactation after delivery, and breast-feeding practice during the first months of life. Data on hospital routines and how these predispose artificial feeding practices are seen from a critical angle. The information presented in this paper corresponds to a project carried out in a rural community of the state of México, called Malinalco, where the lactation behavior of 65 women after birth of the child, was followed as of their last period of pregnancy. The main objectives of the study were to determine the relationship between the place of delivery (hospital or home delivery) and the type of lactation practiced by the mothers, as well as to determine the infants nutritional status during their first year of life. Results showed that the greater part of women from the sample were young others (less than 30 years old) with one or two children. As to the place where delivery took place, 72% of the sample were attended by midwives at their own homes, and at last 65% practiced breast feeding exclusively during the first three months. No significant correlation between these two indicators (place of delivery and type of lactation) was found, although a tendency to a more prolonged breast-feeding practice was observed in those women who delivered at home. Problems related to weaning practices were detected, since they start this only with bean broth after five months of life. Finally, information on nutritional status during the first 12 months of life, shows serious nutritional problem after the child's third month of life, since the normality percentage starts decreasing while there occurs a significant increase of 1st an 2nd degree malnutrition.

[Main sociocultural aspects related to breast feeding in Malinalco, Mexico]. / Principales aspectos socioculturales relacionados con la lactancia en Malinalco, Edo. de Mexico.

The present paper discusses data related to some sociocultural aspects on breast-feeding behavior among a group of women from a rural community in Mexico called Malinalco. A sample of 225 mothers with children aged less than 60 months, was selected. Several home visits were done in order to fill up a questionnaire, as well as to follow direct interviews according to some selected variables to the deepened, such as: schooling, occupation, place of children deliveries, breast-feeding behavior beliefs on breast-feeding abandonment, weaning practices, etc. The results showed that there is no relation between breast-feeding practices, income and school years; nevertheless, there is a certain tendency on early abandonment of breast-feeding in women with higher level of schooling. Some local beliefs about breast-milk production were detected, as well as some remedies to stimulate milk production and to cure certain breast-feeding problems. Data on weaning age and the commonest weaning food products are presented. The importance that cultural dimension has on breast-feeding studies is discussed, as well as the relevance of recognizing "the changes of concepts" within the process of cultural development itself, in order to understand them better and to propose solutions to the generated problems.