This cross-sectional research has been done in order to assess the knowledge and practice about infant feeding and carrying of the mothers who applied to Malatya Mother-Child Health and Family Planning Center. The researchers interviewed with 250 mothers who applied to the Center during June and July 1996 and who have children at the age of three or under; and after the questionnaire, the mothers were educated.
Mean age of the mothers was 26 and 90.8°% were at least literate. Bringing their last children up, 67.8°/o of the mothers used their knowledge. Median first breastfeeding time was two hours. One hundred and fifty three babies over one year old were fed with other type of nutrition for median nine months (median). Exclusively breastfeeding rate was 3.2% in the frstsixmonths.
Eighty percent of 153 one year old babies were swaddled during the f rst 12 months and 6.5% were swaddled with soil.
The mothers were asked four questions about high fever and diarrhoea. The rate of the mothers who gave true answer for all was 67.6%.
As WHO recommends, mothers should be encouraged to suckle as soon as they give birth, to exclusively breast feed for the f rst 7-6 months and to continue breastfeeding for 12 months.
In order to bring healthy generations up, it is an important duty for health personnel to tell the people that the practice of swaddling with or without soil is wrong, and to give information about baby care to the people everywhere.
Key words: Infant, Exclusively breastfeeding, weaning period.
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