A study on the reasons, methods and outcomes of full weaning

Full weaning the children from breast milk to family food is a very important stage of life and it also can be a dangerous process for children. At this time, changes in child nutrition may cause him worried or agitated and can lead to malnutrition and weight loss. So we decided to study the reasons, methods and outcomes of full weaning in the children under 3 years old in Damghan, Iran. This was a descriptive – analytic study which was done in 242 under 3 years old children whom were full weaned from breast milk during the last 6 months. The mothers were interviewed and the study questionnaires were completed by the interviewers. At last, data was analyzed by SPSS soft ware, using descriptive and analytic statistics (chi- square and Exact Fisher Test) The major reason for full weaning in this study was “completing the breast feeding period “which was mentioned in 57 percent of children. Other reasons were included: Children’s refuse to eat family food, self - weaning, lack of milk secretion, subsequent pregnancy… Full weaning in 55 percent of children was done in a gradual form and the others had abrupt weaning. In 37.2 percent of them, full weaning process was done by application drugs, different chemical substances and barriers on the breasts. Anxiety and Weight loss were the major outcomes of full weaning. We concluded that there is a special need for mothers to know more about weaning process of their children from breast milk to family food and in this way we hope to decrease the unpleasant outcomes of full weaning.