Rev. Soc. Bras. Enferm. Ped.2006;6(1):17-25.

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CURRENT FEEDINGS OF CHILDREN DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR THE ACCORDING TO SOCIAL STRATA

DOI: 10.31508/1676-3793200600003

Abstract

The objective of this descriptive, exploratory, study is to classify the current feeding habits of children during their first year the according to social strata. One hundred ninety-seven children from zero to twelve months participated in the study. In order to include various social strata, the data was collected in a health clinic in the rural zone of a country in Maranhão-Brazil. One offered public health care services and the other offered private, or paid, health care services. The Graffar Model was used in order to classify the social strata, whereas the data was collected via a questionnaire with seventeen questions. The results permit the affirmation that maternal breast-feeding was amply practiced, while a premature introduction to complementary food was also noticed. The category of exclusive maternal breast-feeding was most prevalent within the Social Strata II, whereas the only case of artificial feeding occurred in Social Strata V. Infantile feeding originates from a complex network of relationships and dimensions stretch from the family to health care actions to social strata.