INFANT FEEDING PRACTICES IN HOSPITAL MATERNITY NURSERIES

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Abstract
THE VARIED practices in the routine feeding of infants in newborn nurseries in the United States are important to record as historic and scientific evidence of the customs of our times. This survey concerns some of the more important of these practices as they were applied in 1956 to 2,244,667 infants in 1,904 hospitals in the United States. There is indeed a paucity of information on a national scope as to the infant feeding and other practices in maternity nurseries. As part of a comprehensive study of Child Health Services conducted in 1946-47 by the American Academy of Pediatrics with the co-operation of the United States Public Health Service and the United States Children's Bureau, it was found that 38.1% of infants discharged from 2,513 hospitals during one specified week were breast-fed; 27% were breast and bottle-fed; and 34.9% bottle-fed only. In this same study it was found that of the various feeding mixtures, 73.2% of infants received evaporated milk; 10.7% fresh milk; and 16.1% prepared milk preparations. A complete report as to incidence of breast feeding in maternity nurseries in the United States, comparable to the data obtained by Bain in 1948, will be made in another paper. METHODS A questionnaire containing 21 interrogations was submitted to the nursery supervisors of the 2,981 hospitals having birth rates of 300 infants or more in 1955. The return of 63.9% of these questionnaires implies considerable enthusiasm and interest among supervisory personnel of maternity nurseries. Many pertinent comments were made and varied opinions relative to these procedures were volunteered. A unique feature of the report is that the results are presented not only in terms of hospitals, but also in numbers of infants involved.

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