Cultural Influences on Infant Feeding Practices

Suzinne Pak-Gorstein; Aliya Haq; Elinor A. Graham

doi:10.1542/pir.30-3-e11

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Suzinne Pak-Gorstein, MD, PhD, MPH*
Aliya Haq, MS, RD†
Elinor A. Graham, MD, MPH*

^*Harborview Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash
^†Harborview Medical Center, Children and Teens Clinic, and Women, Infant, and Children Nutrition Program, Seattle, Wash

Objectives

After completing this article, readers should be able to:

Provide examples of specific cultural beliefs and traditions that affect infant feeding practices.
Describe the influence of acculturation in the United States (US) on infant feeding practices among immigrant mothers.
Recognize the problem of infant overfeeding among particular groups.
Outline a culturally sensitive approach to elicit personal and cultural beliefs regarding infant feeding and to provide effective infant feeding counseling for mothers from different cultural backgrounds.

“… all different cultures, whether in a tropical village or in a highly urbanized and technologically sophisticated community, contain some practices and customs which are beneficial to the health and nutrition of the group, and some which are harmful. No culture has a monopoly on wisdom or absurdity.” Jellife D. Child Nutrition in Developing Countries: A Handbook for Fieldworkers. Washington, DC: United States Public Health Service; 1968

Introduction

Healthy infant feeding practices, including exclusive breastfeeding and delayed introduction of complementary foods, are promoted by health clinicians as well as by numerous national and international organizations. However, mothers base their infant feeding decisions on an array of factors, including their experiences, family demands, socioeconomic circumstances, and cultural beliefs.

As the number of children from immigrant families in the US increases, more pediatric clinicians are working not only with families of color who have a long heritage of living in the US spanning many generations, but also with families new to the US whose cultural backgrounds are markedly different from their own. Health professionals are faced with a growing challenge to appreciate the cultural beliefs influencing infant feeding practices for both recent immigrants as well as for resident US ethnic groups. Discussions regarding infant feeding often are the initial interaction between clinician and mother and, as such, are important in building a foundation of trust and rapport …