Child-feeding habits in a situation of social change: The case of Maiduguri, Nigeria

Based on interview of 250 mainly non-literate low income group mothers who use a childcare and antenatal clinic in Maiduguri, the study sought to know the pattern of child-feeding that is emerging in Maiduguri, a rapidly urbanizing centre, and sought to identify factors responsible for the emergence of the pattern. The study found that the pattern emerging is characterized by a tendency to combine traditional and methods learnt as a result of contact with bearers of western industrial culture. The most important factors seen to be implicated in the development of this pattern is mass media advertisement and the example of elite mothers whose visibly displayed adoption of bottle-feeding elevates it to the status of a fashion in the eyes of the lower income, illiterate or less western educated mothers who then follow uncritically. It is suggested that more be done by the medical profession to counter this trend in the state, than its present apparent resigned acceptance.