A survey of infant feeding practices was conducted among children aged less than 1 year attending an urban health clinic and the main Children's Outpatients Department (COPD) in Port Moresby in 1986. A further survey was conducted in 1987 to assess the short-term trends. The use of artificial milk increased by 60%, from 9.4% in the first to 15.2% in the second survey. This increase was particularly marked in the COPD sample. Bottle feeding accounted for 95% of artificial feeding methods. In 67% of cases the reason given for using artificial feeding was that the mother was working. Legislation and an explicit government policy to foster the establishment of creches in the work place may be necessary to counter the worrying increase in artificial feeding.
Bottle Feeding - trends ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Behavior ; Papua New Guinea ; Urban Population ; Women, Working

A population of 211 Melanesian babies born in Port Moresby after a known gestation were studied using the Dubowitz gestational assessment in order to assess the method in Melanesians. After exclusion of obvious outliers the regression equation for gestational age on total score was not significantly different from that of Dubowitz. Melanesian babies had relatively more mature neurological scores than external scores. The Dubowitz method of gestational assessment may be used without restandardization in a Melanesian population.
Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Melanesia - ethnology ; Observer Variation ; Papua New Guinea