Events leading to the decision to introduce complementary feeding to the breast among a group of mothers in Istanbul.

A cross-sectional study carried out among 269 mother-infant pairs in Istanbul showed that the majority of infants began receiving regular complements or had been weaned before the age of three months. A prospective study carried out among 24 mothers beginning the last month of pregnancy and continuing until the time when regular complementation was instituted showed that the average duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 58 days. Infants began receiving complements on an irregular basis beginning the early postnatal days. Irregularly introduced complements often lead to gastro-intestinal reactions and weight loss. Mothers displayed sensitivity toward cues that suggested dissatisfaction in infants or other events that they conceived as threats to their milk yield in terms of quality and quantity. Mothers often discussed their decision to introduce complements with other people such as doctors and older female acquaintances who supported them toward complementation. Failure to gain sufficient weight with exclusive breastfeeding was seldom the cause of introducing complementary feeding.