Early termination of breast-feeding in periurban Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: mothers' community perceptions and personal practices.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to determine: 1) whether mothers' perceptions of typical community practice for breast-feeding duration influence their personal practices and 2) whether the mothers' reports of community reasons for terminating breast-feeding identify barriers not elicited through self-report.


METHODS
The study was conducted in 1997 in a sample of poor neighborhoods in a periurban district of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. A representative sample of 220 mothers from these neighborhoods was interviewed with a structured questionnaire.


RESULTS
While the duration of breast-feeding was similar for self-report and for mothers' perceptions of typical community practice, there was no statistically significant correlation between these two variables. "Mother-driven" reasons for early termination of breast-feeding, such as "fear of loss of figure or of breast shape" and "not wanting to breast-feed," were frequently perceived as community reasons but rarely given as personal reasons. Personal reasons were predominately "child-driven," including "the child not wanting the breast," or reasons beyond the mother's control such as having "insufficient" milk.


CONCLUSIONS
Maternal report of community reasons for early termination may be a useful way to identify factors that would not otherwise be revealed on self-report. These additional reasons may guide health promotion efforts aimed at increasing breast-feeding duration.
McLennan
J D
JD
McMaster University, Canadian Centre for Studies of Children at Risk, Patterson Building, 2nd Floor, 1200 Main Street W., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. mclennjd@mcmaster.ca
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004293:Dominican Republic; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014886:Weaning