Breast feeding and growth in Western Kenyan toddlers
Date
1998
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
McGill University, Montreal, QC, CA
Abstract
The value of post-infancy breast feeding for growth and nutrition has been the subject of debate and controversy. We followed a cohort of 264 western Kenyan children for six months prospectively (mean age 14 months at baseline) to investigate the influence of breast. feeding on growth. Only 14 (5%) children had been weaned by enrolment, and 173 (66%) were still breast feeding at follow-up. For analysis, children were classified into three groups of breast feeding duration as a proportion of the study: 0--49% (n = 42), 50--99% (n = 49), and 100% (n = 173). General Linear Models procedures were used for multivariate analysis. Adjusted means showed that children in the longest breast feeding group gained 3.4 cm (p < 0.001) and 360 g (p < 0.01) more than those in the shortest breast feeding group, and 0.7 cm and 230 g (p < 0.05) more than children in the intermediate group. The greatest benefits of breast feeding for linear growth were observed in households that had no latrine and whose water consumption was below 10 L/person/day. Our results support the recommendation that children in developing countries be breast-fed for at least two years.
Description
item.page.type
Thesis
item.page.format
Text
Keywords
BREAST FEEDING, CHILD DEVELOPMENT, NUTRITION, FEEDING, HEALTH SURVEYS, KENYA, INFANTS, MORBIDITY, WEANING FOOD, RESEARCH METHODS, DATA COLLECTING