ABSTRACT

This study was conducted in Umiahia urban and rural in Abia state to find out the infant feeding practices. A structured questionnaire was administered to mothers and the anthropometric measurements (weight, height, and arm and head circumference) of babies were recorded. Questionnaire was distributed to a total of 150 mothers. The result showed that breastfeeding was a common practice. The duration of breastfeeding was fairly long. Early complementary feeding practices were practiced by the mothers who are civil servants. Based on the statistical analysis, the mean and standard deviation were obtained, frequency, cross tabulation, T— test and Anova were calculated using computer statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 13. Based on the result, majority of the infants were normal (50%) while (6.7%) urban and (2.7%) were severely wasted, (10.7%), urban and (12%) were stunted, (4.1%) of the urban malnourished and (1.3%). Rural were severely malnourished. Also from the result, mashed yam with oil had the highest ash content (5.31 + 0.08) and pap with soybean had the highest moisture content (90.25 + 0.02). Pap with soybean was deficient in calcium, iron, and vitamin A.