While being underweight or stunted is recognized as an important risk factor for increased prevalence and severity of infection and high mortality rates, there is increasing evidence for an independent role for micronutrient deficiency. Improving vitamin A status reduces mortality among older infants and young children and reduces pregnancy-related mortality; ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of formula company-produced materials about infant feeding to breast-feeding promotion materials without formula advertising on breast-feeding initiation and duration. METHODS: Five hundred forty-seven pregnant women were randomized to receive either formula company (commercial; n = 277) or specially designed (research; n = 270) educational packs ...

BACKGROUND: During treatment of postpartum depression with antidepressant drugs, the mothers often strongly wish to continue breast-feeding although the long-term safety of exposing infants to low doses of antidepressants has not been established. METHODS: Citalopram in breast milk and in the serum of a nursing mother and her infant was ...

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breast-feeding during the first 4 to 6 months of life, but limited information is available regarding the growth performance of infants fed according to the recommendation. The present study used data from the Euro-Growth study to determine the growth of breast-fed European ...

BACKGROUND: Little detailed information is available on feeding practices of infants in Europe. The Euro-Growth Study is a longitudinal, observational, multicenter study of milk feeding, the introduction of complementary solid foods, and vitamin and mineral supplementation. Current practice is compared with international feeding recommendations. METHOD: Healthy term infants (n = ...

Using Demographic and Health Survey datasets from Ghana and Nigeria, this study examined whether the protective effects of breast-feeding are greatest where the poorest sanitation conditions prevail. It was found that mixed-fed infants aged between 0 and 11 months tend to have a higher risk of diarrhoea than fully breast-fed ...

The Surgeon General's Year 2000 health goals for the nation are presented and data from South Dakota and the United States that measure progress toward achieving them are discussed. The percentage of low-birth weight babies (LBW) in South Dakota is lower than observed nationally, but, similar to the national trend, ...

Human breast milk contains an array of factors with anti-infectious potential, such as immunoglobulins (especially secretory IgA), oligosaccharides and glycoproteins with anti-adhesive capacity, and cytokines. Breast-feeding is associated with protection from the following infections or infection-related conditions: gastroenteritis, upper and lower respiratory tract infection, acute otitis media, urinary tract infection, ...

Food-induced eosinophilic proctocolitis appears in the first 2 months of life with blood-tinged stools. Aside from occasional apparent pain on defecation and a few infants with moderate eczema, systemic features are absent. Indeed, aside from the diaper, the infant is generally described as well. Thus, in contrast to the infant ...

It has been shown that altering hospital policies in a way to avoid interference of routine prescriptions with initiation of breast feeding and to provide active encouragement to mothers and personnel can result in significant benefit for later breast feeding success. It is less clear, however, which of the elements ...

Many women with mental illnesses would like to breast feed their infants. In light of the limited but rapidly growing data, it seems that in some cases the possible physiological and psychological benefits may outweigh putative risks. All antipsychotics are secreted into breast milk but the concentrations and effects vary. ...

Five cases of moderately severe hypernatraemic dehydration were identified within a 5-month period between two regional hospitals in Hong Kong. Unlike previous reported cases, these exclusively breast-fed infants presented with the unusual triad of fever, absence of overt signs of dehydration and within the first week of life. Three of ...

We have previously shown that breast-fed infants have a considerably larger thymus at 4 months than formula-fed infants. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether breast-feeding also influences the thymic size in late infancy. In a cohort of 50 infants, all being partially breast-fed when recruited at ...

BACKGROUND: The promotion of breast-feeding is one of the essential interventions for reduction of infant mortality and improving infant development worldwide. The aim of the present study was to examine the current status of infant feeding and the influences of suspected family sociodemographic characteristics and social support as well as ...

Infant feeding guidelines regarding the introduction of solid foods are generally not well known in Canada. The guidelines recommend that solid foods be introduced between four to six months of age, depending on the developmental readiness of the infant. In order to understand the underlying factors and patterns which contribute ...

AIM: To compare the growth patterns of breast fed and formula fed Italian infants in the first 12 months of life using World Health Organisation (WHO) reference data. METHODS: The growth patterns of 73 breast fed infants (36 male, 37 female) and 65 formula fed infants (35 male, 30 female) ...

AIM: Significant changes have occurred in the way postnatal care is funded in New Zealand since July 1996. This study investigated three aspects of postnatal care: the uptake of the six-week check, the six-week immunisation and breast feeding rates. METHOD: A prospective prevalence survey of 504 mothers of newborn babies ...

BACKGROUND: Although the results of many clinical studies suggest that breast-fed children score higher on tests of cognitive function than do formula-fed children, some investigators have suggested that these differences are related to confounding covariables such as socioeconomic status or maternal education. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to conduct a meta-analysis ...

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the impact of various feeding patterns on the physical growth and mental development of infants, particularly during the first 6 months of life, and to compare growth patterns of Turkish infants with those of infants living in various countries. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-two healthy newborn infants ...

Acute respiratory infections are the leading cause of childhood death in developing countries. Current efforts at mortality control focus on case management and immunization, but other preventive strategies may have a broader and more sustainable effect. This review, commissioned by the World Health Organization, examines the relations between pneumonia and ...

OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of exclusive breast feeding and the reasons for water supplementation, and investigate whether water is necessary in the humid climate of Colombo. SETTING: Well baby clinic in De Soysa Maternity Hospital for Women, Colombo. SUBJECTS: 200 breast fed infants born in a baby friendly hospital ...

To evaluate the development of intestinal flora in young infants, and especially to estimate the influence of mode of delivery and type of feeding on the establishment of intestinal microflora, faecal flora was studied indirectly by measuring prospectively the faecal bacterial enzyme activities (beta-glucosidase, beta-glucuronidase and urease) in 29 full-term, ...

OBJECTIVES: To identify environmental influences on infant growth using data from a birth cohort established in 1921. DESIGN: A longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: Aberdeen 1921-22. SUBJECTS: Five hundred and sixteen individuals (263 boys and 253 girls) born in Aberdeen during 1921. Health visitor assessments ranged from two to 40 (47% ...

The rate of HIV transmission via breast-feeding ranges from 14% to 26%, depending on the timing of maternal infection. In settings where infant mortality rates from infectious diseases and malnutrition are low and relatively safe alternatives to breast-feeding are available, HIV-infected mothers should be advised not to breast-feed. Where breast-feeding ...

Buccal smear analysis is a noninvasive, fast, and relatively inexpensive diagnostic method. It is used commonly where rapid gender identification is necessary or, more recently, for detection of aneusomy, microdeletion syndromes, and a variety of polymerase chain reaction-based molecular genetic tests. Previously we have shown that maternal cells can contaminate ...

OBJECTIVE: To report adverse effects in a newborn infant whose mother had been treated with doxepin during pregnancy and while breast-feeding. CASE SUMMARY: The nine-day-old white boy was admitted because of poor sucking and swallowing, with muscle hypotonia and vomiting. He was drowsy and had lost 150 g. At the ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare infant feeding practices of Anglo-American (AA) (n = 25) and Asian-Indian American (AIA) mothers (n = 25) residing in the southeastern United States. METHODS: Feeding practices (breast-feeding, formula-feeding, introduction of solid foods) were assessed at infant ages one, three, six, nine and twelve months for a total ...

BACKGROUND: Haemophilus influenzae is the major cause of otitis media and lower respiratory tract infection in childhood. In the presence of human milk, which contains numerous host defense factors, Haemophilus influenzae may be inhibited in attaching to and colonizing pharyngeal cells. We investigated the incidence of H. influenzae in the ...

To determine whether breast feeding protects infants against pneumonia and whether the protection varies with age. Nested case-control study. Pelotas, southern Brazil. Cases were 152 infants aged 28-364 days who had been admitted to hospital for pneumonia. Controls were 2391 cases in a population based case-control study. Odds ratio of ...

Theory suggests that the decision to return to employment after childbirth and the decision to breast-feed may be jointly determined. We estimate models of simultaneous equations for two different aspects of the relationship between maternal employment and breast-feeding using 1993-1994 data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Infant Feeding ...

Early infant feeding after birth is being promoted, although it is unclear whether this has any effect on carbohydrate metabolism. We planned to measure the capillary glucose at one hour (1 h) of age in a group of infants from non-diabetic pregnancies using the HemoCue B-Glucose system to see if ...

Breast milk contains many immunologically active components that influence the development of the immune system of the breast-fed infant. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in specific lymphocyte subsets between breast-fed and formula-fed 6-mo-old infants. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 79 breast-fed (< 120 mL ...

BACKGROUND: The optimal age at which to introduce complementary foods is a topic of considerable debate. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate this issue in a nutritionally vulnerable population in Honduras. DESIGN: Mothers of low-birth-weight (1500-2500 g) term (ie, small-for-gestational-age) infants were recruited in the hospital and assisted with ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare infant feeding practices among low-income, urban, African-American women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) with current recommendations for infant feeding. DESIGN: Longitudinal follow-up of women and their infants who participated in a WIC-based breast-feeding promotion project. Women enrolled prenatally at ...

OBJECTIVE: To identify infant feeding, socioeconomic, demographic, and delivery-related factors that affect women's self-reported timing of the onset of lactation. DESIGN: Longitudinal survey of women from day 1 postpartum until self-reported onset of lactation. Subjects were interviewed in person on day 1 postpartum, then surveyed daily by telephone regarding infant ...

The relationship between the duration of breast feeding and psychosocial outcomes measured between the ages of 15 and 18 years was examined in a birth cohort of 999 New Zealand children. During the period from birth to 1 year, information was collected on maternal breast-feeding practices. Between the ages of ...

To determine the relationship between infant feeding practices and diarrhoeal infections, a descriptive survey was conducted on infants aged between 6 and 12 months of age. A guided interview was conducted with 105 mothers of infants who attended the health facilities of Mbabane, Swaziland. The results showed that breast feeding ...

Oestrogen transdermal patches are now being used in the prophylaxis and treatment of post partum depression. Oestrogens are known to have potential adverse effects on breastfed infants. This case describes jaundice and poor weight gain in the child of a lactating mother prescribed oestrogen transdermal patches. There is a need ...

BACKGROUND: Although the orthodontic nipple has been recommended for many years to supplement breast-feeding infants, it is not known if this nipple is suitable for hospitalized preterm infants whose mothers wish to breast-feed. OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare short-term physiologic responses of preterm infants serving as their own controls for ...

Infant nutrition trials usually require developmental follow-up, often to 18 mon, and sometimes beyond reading ability at age 7 yr. They are therefore logistically complex and costly, and should be conducted to a high statistical standard. With examples, we focus on: good practice in nutrition trials and the goal of ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between duration of exclusive breast-feeding and developmental indices in initially breast-fed infants at 1 year of age. METHODOLOGY: A cohort of 96 healthy term infants, aged between 10 and 14 months, were recruited from public immunization clinics and child care centres in southern metropolitan Adelaide. ...

Because of its unique features, the contraceptive effectiveness and tolerance during breast-feeding of 16-methylene-17 alpha-acetoxy-19-nor-4-pregnene-3,20-dione (elcometrine), delivered within a single subdermal capsule of medical grade polydimethylsiloxane, was investigated. Unlike other progestational steroids, elcometrine has no affinity for androgen and estrogen receptors and is inactive by the oral route. A total ...

OBJECTIVE: To understand the transition from breast-and bottle-feeding to solid-feeding and factors that might affect the duration of breast- and bottle-feeding. DESIGN: Cohort followed up from birth with relatively well-educated, middle-class parents. SETTING: Community sample recruited from 3 suburban newborn nurseries (a teaching hospital, community hospital, and large health maintenance ...

Recently, there has been much interest in the literature in the role of early nutrition and the health of the individual in adulthood. A majority of infants in the UK are born full term, while preterm infants account for 4-6% of the total births. Milk feeding practices are divided into ...

Neonatal abstinence syndrome is seen commonly in infants born to women on methadone maintenance. Many of these infants are breast-fed but few data are available on the distribution of methadone in breast milk, particularly for women receiving doses greater than 60 mg daily. We report two infants who appeared to ...

Human infants are particularly responsive to olfactory cues emanating from their mother's nipple/areola region. Beginning within minutes after birth, maternal breast odors elicit preferential head orientation by neonates and help guide them to the nipple. Such odors also influence babies' general motor activity and arousal, which may contribute further to ...

Infants are most precious part of nation's life. Infant health is a reflection of the health of the mother and it gives an indication of the health of the adult population of the future. The present work was designed to study the health and nutritional status of infants in Karmouz ...

A survey was conducted to study the practices of infant-feeding and the influencing factors in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. It involved 375 mothers of different nationalities and backgrounds and 300 healthy infants. The mothers were interviewed at four primary health care clinics in Al-Ain. Results showed that 46% of infants ...

The main objective of this study was to inquire from lactating mothers whether they were fully or partially practising exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months postnatally. Time of initiation of breast and complementary feedings, types of feeds and reasons for giving other feeds to infants apart from breast milk ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether breast-feeding has a dose-related protective effect against illness and whether it confers special health benefits to poor infants. METHODS: The association between breast-feeding dose and illnesses in the first 6 months of life was analyzed with generalized estimating equations regression ...