The longitudinal growth and feeding practices of infants from birth to twelve months

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:INTRODUCTION: Malnutrition is a silent emergency. WHO estimates that 55%of all child deaths in developing countries are associated with malnutrition.Inadequate dietary intake and disease are the two immediate causes ofmalnutrition. The underlying causes are household food insecurity, inadequatematernal and child-care and poor water/ sanitation and inadequate health services.Stunting is a major problem in pre-school children in South Africa. This indicatesa long term inadequate dietary intake. Furthermore, the initiation of breastfeedingin South Africa is about 90%, and the duration thereof tends to be less than 3months after birth. A great majority of children in this country consume a dietdeficient in energy and of poor nutrient density to meet their micronutrientrequirements. The aim of this study was to identify feeding practices of infantsthat could contribute to the development of malnutrition.METHOD: This was a cohort study with a prospective experimental design.Forty-four of the original 73 mother-infant pairs that were recruited, wereinterviewed monthly on feeding practices of the infants. Anthropometricmeasurements (weight and height of the infants) were measured monthly.RESULTS: Weight-for-age Z-scores dropped significantly with age from around4 months, when weaning had started. Inadequate dietary intake, more specificallyweaning practices and breastfeeding practices, were identified as the immediatecause that could contribute to the development of malnutrition in this community.Except for the positive relationship between the level of education of the fatherand an increase in HAZ over time, growth was not affected by socio-economicand demographic factors in this community. This is probably because of the factthat there were very small differences in socio-economic and demographic factors.CONCLUSION: Weaning and breastfeeding practices should be addressed in allnutrition education programmes.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University