Infant feeding practices in Viet Nam

Asia Pac Popul J. 1995 Dec;10(4):3-22.

Abstract

PIP: Data from the 1988 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey and the 1994 Demographic Survey are used to determine the trends in breast feeding and amenorrhea among ever married women of reproductive age. Life table procedures are used to calculate monthly probabilities of weaning. Then five month moving averages of equal weight are computed for observed monthly probabilities of weaning. The smoothed probabilities are used to calculate the cumulative proportion weaned at successive monthly ages. Breast feeding is universal in Vietnam. Infants are put to the breast earlier when delivery occurs at home. Almost all children are breast fed through the first six months, and 80% are breast fed for a year. The median duration was 15.3 months in the 1988 survey and 15.9 months in the 1994 survey based on life table methods. Calculations based on current status methods were slightly higher for both years. Rural women tended to breast feed longer than urban women. Children who had mothers working in agriculture were breast fed longer than children whose mothers had other occupations. Socioeconomic factors did not correlate well with breast feeding duration. Findings indicate that over 66% of breast fed infants aged under 3 months were given plain water, and over 90% of infants aged 3-5 months were given plain water. Fresh cow's milk is not given to Vietnamese infants. Juices were given to children aged older than 6 months. Sugar water was given to younger infants. The introduction of supplemental liquids was more common in urban areas. Few infants during the first few months of life were given solid or mushy foods. But by 4 months of age, 50% of infants were given solid or mushy foods, and the practice was more common in rural areas. The urban-rural gap closed by 6 months of age. Over 90% of infants received solids at 9 months. It is expected that modernization will negatively impact on breast feeding.

MeSH terms

  • Amenorrhea*
  • Asia
  • Asia, Southeastern
  • Breast Feeding*
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Demography*
  • Developing Countries
  • Dietary Supplements*
  • Health
  • Health Planning
  • Health Services
  • Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena*
  • Life Tables*
  • Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
  • Population
  • Population Dynamics
  • Postpartum Period
  • Primary Health Care
  • Reproduction
  • Research
  • Vietnam