Formula is extremely rare for it can only be obtained in large cities and is prohibitively expensive. It is sometimes expressed and discarded, not fed to the infant. In general, Oromo people see water as void of nutrition and do not drink it. They seriously doubt the value of clear fluid diets for infants with gastroenteritis, which the American doctors advise. Mothers feed infants on demand, rarely going far from the infant and sleeping with them at night.
Breast feeding is acceptable in all social situations, even a busy marketplace.
However, breastfeeding women often keep their breasts covered when not feeding, fearing the lactating breasts are very susceptible to airborn illness. Sometimes women breast feed infants who are not their own. This is particularly true when both mother and daughter have infants and are lactating. It is usually done for convenience, for example when one of the women is away from the village on an errand. Occasionally in situations of maternal illness, death, or failed milk supply, a relative or other village women assume breastfeeding responsibility.