The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and morbidity (diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infection) in infants aged 0-3 month(s) using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2003 data from Bangladesh. The study population included 1633 infants aged 0-3 month(s). The prevalence of diarrhoea and acute respirato...

BACKGROUND Suboptimal breastfeeding practices among infants and young children <24 months of age are associated with elevated risk of pneumonia morbidity and mortality. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the protective effects of breastfeeding exposure against pneumonia incidence, prevalence, hospitalizations and mortality. METHODS We conducted a systematic literat...

BACKGROUND Concern has been raised by infant feeding experts that supplementing breastfed infants with iron-fortified formula rather than low-iron formula may have an undesirable impact on their gastrointestinal flora. Thus far, there have been no clinical studies to address this issue directly. We compared the reported frequency of diarrhea for breastfed infants given iron-fortified formula wi...

BACKGROUND Few data are available on the number of stools in exclusively breastfed infants. Two studies aimed to assess the stool pattern in exclusively breastfed infants and to evaluate the reactions of mothers in the case of infrequent stools and the decisions of healthcare providers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Infrequent stools were defined as an interval of >24 hours between bowel movements. S...

The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes breastfeeding and human milk as the "normative standards for infant feeding." Given the documented health benefits, the Academy recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, followed by continued breastfeeding for at least 12 months as complementary foods are introduced. To better understand trends during 2000-2008 and differences in breastfeedin...

All breastfeeding infants lose some weight in the early days of life. Conventionally, 5% to 7% loss of birth weight has been accepted as the normal and expected amount of weight loss before infants begin to gain weight steadily. When infants lose more than 7% of their birth weight, breastfeeding adequacy is sometimes questioned and formula supplementation is often given. Despite the fact that 5...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of in utero and lactational exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins on the mental and psychomotor development of infants. DESIGN Prenatal PCB exposure was estimated from the levels in maternal plasma during the last month of pregnancy. Postnatal PCB and dioxin exposure of breastfed infants was calculated from levels in human milk samples and ...

AIM To determine whether selenium supplementation of parenteral nutrition with 3 micrograms/kg/day of selenious acid is safe and effective in improving the selenium status of preterm infants. METHODS Thirty eight preterm infants with mean (SEM) birthweight of 1171 (38) g and gestational age 29 (0.3) weeks were randomly allocated to a non-supplemented (PN-selenium, n = 19) or supplemented (PN+...

Rapid growth during infancy is associated with increased risk of overweight and obesity and differences in weight gain are at least partly explained by means of infant feeding. The aim was to assess the associations between infant feeding practice in early infancy and body mass index (BMI) at 6 years of age. Icelandic infants (n = 154) were prospectively followed from birth to 12 months and aga...

BACKGROUND Early-life nutrition may influence later body composition. The effect of breastfeeding and formula feeding on infant body composition is uncertain. OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that examined body composition in healthy, term infants in relation to breastfeeding or formula feeding. DESIGN PubMed was searched for human studies that reporte...