| Autor: |
Koroma AS; Ministry of Health, Republic of Sierra Leone, Freetown 00232, Sierra Leone., Stephenson KB; Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA., Iversen PO; Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, 0317 Oslo, Norway.; Department of Haematology, Oslo University Hospital, 0450 Oslo, Norway.; Division of Human Nutrition, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa., Manary MJ; Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA., Hendrixson DT; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Breastfeeding provides optimal infant nutrition; however, <50% of infants are exclusively breastfed (EBF) for 6 months. We aimed to describe breastfeeding practices and their effects on growth and mortality among a high-risk mother-infant cohort in rural Sierra Leone. This was a secondary analysis of data from a randomized nutrition intervention trial among undernourished pregnant women. The study's primary outcomes were infant weight and length gains at 6 weeks of age. We included 1270 singleton infants in the analysis, with 1092 (85.6%) having 24-week outcome data. At 6 weeks, 88% were EBF, but the rate of EBF decreased to 17% at 24 weeks. The EBF infants at 6 weeks had improved length (difference of 0.9 mm/week; 95% CI 0.4 to 1.3; p < 0.001) and weight (difference of 40 g/week; 95% CI 24 to 53; p < 0.001) gains compared to the non-EBF infants. At 12 weeks, the EBF infants had improved weight (difference of 12 g/week; 95% CI 2 to 22; p = 0.024) gain. The EBF infants had lower mortality than the infants who were not EBF (hazard ratio of 0.39; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.84; p = 0.017). In summary, the infants who were EBF had greater weight and length gain and reduced mortality than those who were not EBF. Efforts to improve breastfeeding should thus be prioritized to improve infant health. |
