OBJECTIVE Although breastfeeding is associated with lower rates of a variety of infant illnesses, skeptics have suggested that much of the association is attributable to confounding, even after appropriate statistical adjustment. This article utilizes a novel design to investigate changes in infant illness at the community level after a successful breastfeeding promotion program. METHODS In t...

Background Diarrhoea is a leading cause of child mortality in Tanzania. The association between optimal infant feeding practices and diarrhoea has been reported elsewhere, but the evidence has been limited to promote and advocate for strategic interventions in Tanzania. This study examined the association between infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and diarrhoea in Tanzanian childre...

OBJECTIVE To examine the vitamin D status of 4-month-old exclusively breastfed infants supplemented with 400 IU daily of vitamin D and to determine whether there was any seasonal variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels of infants. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, and 25(OH)D levels of 143 exclusively b...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Breastfed newborns are more likely to develop prolonged hyperbilirubinemia than those fed formula, but the prevalence of prolonged hyperbilirubinemia in a largely white, North American breastfed population is unknown. In this population, we documented the natural history of jaundice and the prevalence of prolonged hyperbilirubinemia, and we evaluated the utility of ass...

OBJECTIVE To examine effectiveness of an intervention promoting vitamin D supplementation in hospitalized breastfed infants. METHODS Our urban tertiary care hospital instituted a 2-part intervention: brief education for providers on vitamin D guidelines and insertion of an opt-in order for vitamin D supplements into electronic admission order sets. Data downloads on admissions of patients age...

Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended from birth until the first six months and then with complementary feeding up to age two. In our country, only 41.6% of infants are exclusively breastfed during the first six months, and the average duration of breastfeeding is 16 months.The term 'relactation' is used for the resumption of breastfeeding in infants who were not breastfed before or who quit s...

Background: Inadequate milk intake during the first year of neonate’s life can result in weight loss, severe hyperbilirubinemia, and sometimes hypernatremia. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between neonatal weight loss and hypernatremia in term breastfed infants with idiopathic jaundice, as well as the necessity of sodium concentration measurement in newborns with idiopath...

BACKGROUND Despite evidence supporting the importance of breastfeeding to child health, breastfeeding practices remain suboptimal in Vietnam. There is currently little evidence on the importance of breastfeeding in the prevention of morbidity during infancy in Vietnam. In order to provide country specific data for policy makers to support breastfeeding friendly policies and programs, analysis w...

We investigated the association between breastfeeding and cognitive development in infants during their first 3 years. The present study was a part of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, which was a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. A total of 697 infants were tested at age 12, 24, and 36 months using the Korean version of the Bayley Scal...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to recognize the state of vitamin D among healthy infants aged 1 to 6 months in South Korea, and also to identify the risk factors affecting the level of vitamin D. METHODS A total of 117 infants were enrolled in this study for 12 months, from March 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012. Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline ...