OBJECTIVES: to identify five- and eight-month old breast-feeding infants fed according to Health Ministry recommendations, cared for by the Instituto Materno Infantil Professor Fernando Figueira - IMIP Childcare Service; to ascertain the major problems faced by mothers in the process of weaning children; to identify the type of guidance given to mothers on how to initiate the food transition. METHODS: a descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out involving 101 mothers/children aged between five- and eight-months who had initiated food transition between April and August 2003. The mothers were asked to participate in the study prior to a consultation with a physician, according to criteria for inclusion and exclusion. The children were classified in compliance with the norms established by the Ministry of Health regarding the food transition. RESULTS: it was found that 79.2% of the children did not meet the Ministry of Health's norms for food transition. The reasons for not complying with the norms mentioned by mothers were as follows: refusal on the part of the child (23.5%); interference of grandmothers (19%); practicality of preparation/provision of porridge compared with solid food (17.7%). As for the type of guidance, 97.4% claimed to have received spoken and written guidance at work. In the case of the sample studied, nurses and grandmothers had played a major role in providing guidance on the food transition, 77% and 16%, respectively. CONCLUSION: only 20.8% of the children displayed an adequate feeding standard complying with the norms of the Ministry of Health. The mother, who is the one usually responsible for child care, was influenced by family members, especially the grandmother, and by society at large. It was also found that the majority (97.4%) of the mothers received written as well as spoken guidance.
Transition food; Mothers; Puericulture; Breastfeeding infants
