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Constraints on weaning: evidence from Ethiopia and Sudan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Astier M. Almedom  and
Alexander de Waal
Astier M. Almedom
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Oxford
Alexander de Waal
Affiliation:
Nuffield College, University of Oxford
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Summary

Evidence on infant weaning processes provided by field research in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and among a refugee population of Eritreans in the Sudan is presented. The study in Addis Ababa, where households were economically disadvantaged but the situation was nutritionally stable, allowed the identification of factors constraining weaning, which includes both the introduction of supplementary foods and the termination of breastfeeding. While the timing of each aspect of weaning was the outcome of the interaction between mother and infant factors, ‘infant-centred’ factors were more important in the commencement and ‘mother-centred’ factors in the completion of weaning. The refugee population had in normal times a similar weaning regime, but under the unstable conditions of flight and life in a refugee camp the process had been significantly altered. Investigation of the factors which have led to altered weaning processes elaborates and confirms the model derived from the Addis Ababa study.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , October 1990 , pp. 489 - 500
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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