Infant care practices in a metropolitan Aboriginal population

Abstract

Objective: To describe sleeping position, room and bed-sharing, tobacco smoke exposure and infant feeding for a sample of Australian Aboriginal infants from a metropolitan area. Methods: Interviews with Aboriginal mothers who resided in the Perth metropolitan area and had given birth during a continuous 15-month study period. The interviews took place when the infants were approximately 6-12 weeks old and efforts were made to contact all eligible mothers. Results are presented as proportions with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Of all the eligible mothers (n = 515), 87% were contacted and 53% (n = 273) completed the interview. Of all the infants, 11% slept prone, 96% shared a room and 68%..