Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The survey aimed to: establish the feeding practices in families for infants from birth to 15 months of age; identify the reasons why babies are fed as they are, and determine what influences mothers to make their choices about infant feeding; identify the sources and quality of information and support provided to mothers; examine the growth of babies and relate this to feeding practices. Wave 5 data, made available in this second edition, were collected during the fifth stage of the survey. This fifth wave followed up the Asian children in the study when they were about 2 years old to: evaluate the effect of diet on the development of anaemia in young Asian children; explore the relationship between previous feeding history, current daylight exposure and vitamin D status; assess the impact of infection (indicated by acute phase protein values) on indicators of iron status. The UK Data Archive also holds a series of five-yearly Infant Feeding Surveys, 1985-, conducted using a wider sample across the United Kingdom, under GN 33251.
Main Topics:
Waves 1-4: Topics covered by the data include: Breastfeeding - incidence, prevalence and duration. Choice of feeding method. Bottle feeding - prevalence, type of non-human milk given, hygiene practices, help with cost of milk. Ante-natal care and advice. Feeding problems and sources of advice during first 15 months. Solid food - age of introduction, type of food eaten and frequency, feeding problems. Drinks - types of drinks other than milk, frequency of consumption of different types of drink. Vitamin supplements given. Body measurements - weight, supine length, head circumference, mid upper-arm circumference. Wave 5: The file for wave 5 contains: Data from interviews with mothers covering: information on the child's milk drinking habits; consumption of other food and drink which could influence iron status and vitamin D; consumption of vitamin supplements; exposure to sunlight; recent infection. Results of analysis of a blood sample taken from the child at the time of the interview. It is possible to carry forward other variables from waves 1-4 of the survey by matching serial number.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Sampling procedures are discussed in detail in the survey report.
Face-to-face interview
Clinical measurements
Physical measurements
Mothers were interviewed face-to-face on five occasions. A blood sample was taken from the baby at wave 5, and standard anthropometric measurements of babies were taken at each interview.
