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© Kamla-Raj 2004 Anthropologist, 6(4): 261-263 (2004)
A Comparative Study of Breast- Feeding Practices Among Kashmiri Pandits and Dogras
Nirojini Bhat Bhan, Payal Mahajan and Bandana Bhadwal
P. G. Department of Home Science, University of Jammu, Jammu 180 006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
KEYWORDS Breast-feeding. Pre-lacteal Feeds. Top Feeding. Colostrum
ABSTRACT The present study was undertaken to investigate the breast feeding practices prevalent among Kashmiri Pandits and Dogra communities. The sample of the study consisted of 100 infants in the age group of 0-18 months, 50 infants from each community. Snowball sampling technique was used to select the sample. Interview schedule and observation method was used to collect the data. Results revealed that the incidence of breast-feeding was 100% in both the communities. Nursing was started on an average on the first day itself, after feeding the infants with pre-lacteal feeds. Plain boiled water in Kashmiri Pandits and honey in Dogras were prevalent as prelacteal feeds. Although breast-feeding was started on the first day, 90% mothers of both the communities discarded the initial milk (colostrum) as harmful and impure, so only a part of it was fed to the infants. Breast milk was supplemented with top milk (commonly, diluted cow’s), by first or second day after birth, so mixed feeding pattern was common in both the communities. Mothers preferred “on demand” pattern for breast-feed and “on schedule” for top milk. So it is concluded that infant-feeding practices among the said communities are similar to some extent with variations in the pattern of feeding.
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