Breastfeeding and effect of early weaning on the nutritional status and morbidity of infants in Ribas municipality, Venezuela

An observational, descriptive and retrospective study was carried out in the clinics belonging to the Ribas municipality, Guárico state, in Venezuela, from January to December 2010, in order to determine the prevalence of breastfeeding and the effect of weaning early in the nutritional status and morbidity of infants. The universe consisted of 75 infants born in the period. Variables were studied: maternal age, duration of breastfeeding, reason for abandoning breastfeeding, nutritional assessment, and main diseases presented by infants. The following results were obtained: the maternal age range from 20 to 30 years. The reason for neglecting breastfeeding referred to more frequently was to have little milk. Infants below the third percentile performed early weaning. The most frequent disease in infants was acute diarrheal disease.