Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social change and urbanization on child feeding practices in Iran and to determine how any deleterious effects might be compensated for in a manner consistent with the deeply held beliefs of the subjects. The control group was 35 rural households in a small village and the "new urban" group was 50 households in the squatter quarter of a large city. The families in the survey group had moved from small villages to the city within the last 2-10 years. Significant differences were found between the two groups in lactational performance particularly in the much shorter period of breast feeding in the new urban group. Insufficient milk supply, inability to feed the baby because of the need to take outside employment, another pregnancy, and the influence of advertising of prepared baby foods were all identified as causative factors. The low economic status of the new urban families, the inadequate environmental situation and the ignorance of the parents led to use of improperly prepared infant feeds, too dilute because of expense and unhygienically prepared because of poverty and ignorance, resulted in high prevalence of diarrhoeal disease, infantile marasmus and high infant mortality. Although the absolute economic status of new urban families was higher than that of their rural counterparts, the quality of life was not improved. Expenditure and cost of living was higher in the city, gross overcrowding was evident, and the new urban migrants were no longer able to keep animals or grow vegetables. There was also a break down o£ traditional cultural beliefs amongst the new urban families. As a result of the survey a nutritional education programme was devised. A series of five or six talks and practical demonstrations was given to small groups of mothers, most of whom were illiterate and the response to this person-to-person approach was gratifying. The major problems of infant nutrition in the new-urban, areas have been identified and a method of alleviating these has been developed and successfully tested. This education programme could easily be extended by trained voluntary workers but would need governmental approval and financial assistance to make dramatic improvements in infant health in the short term.