The Relationship Between Infant Feeding Methods and Weaning Practices and Dietary Attitudinal Characteristics of Mothers in Wonju Area

원주지역 어머니의 식생활 태도가 영유아 영양법 및 이유실태에 미치는 영향

This study examined the relationship between mothers' consciousness of diet and their infant feeding methods and weaning practices. Consciousness of diet analyzed from 17 questions concerning the attitudes and opinions of diet was classified into 6 categories using the factor analysis. These categories were the faithfulness of diet, the health-directed dietary practices, the application of health information, the application of information about food and nutrition, the sincerity to meal preparation, and dietary habits. The 400 mothers selected randomly from Wonju area were surveyed. The results obtained from the study were summarized as follows. Weaning was implemented earlier by the group with better education career and with the exact knowledge of weaning. Factors associated with infant feeding methods included some sociodemographic characteristics such as birth order, mothers' employment state and income level and mothers' effort toward faithfulness of diet. The use of health-foods and nutrient supplements were prefered by the groups used bottle-feeding method. The health condition of the infants was influenced by mother's will to carry out the health information rather than infant feeding methods and weaning foods used. Mothers who perceived the importance of diet for health and consumed more milk had healthier babies, and their dietary habits were more favorable. The subjects who self-recognized the meaning of weaning and who believed that earlier weaning was good for baby or delayed weaning was the cause of anemia and poor appetite, took advantage of the information about food and nutrition as well as prefered the health-directed dietary practices. Mothers who retried to feed the weaning food rejected by baby before, applied the dietary information to the real meal management more actively and had a more desirable dietary habits. In those cases the baby had improved health condition. Those who were interested in the meaning of weaning and the nutritious effect of weaning foods, revealed significantly higher tendency on the performance of cooking information and the more confidence to the health information from advertisement.