A new study shows that exclusive breastfeeding may help
premature babies in developing nations grow more quickly.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public
Health in Baltimore studied infants born in Dhaka City, the capitol of
the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and found that breastfed infants
grew faster than did infants who were only partially breastfed or not
breastfed at all.
"This study highlights the importance of size and maturity at
birth in determining infant growth in a poor urban community in
Bangladesh and re-emphasizes the need for improving fetal growth as a
first step towards improving childhood nutritional status," Dr.
Abdulla Baqui and colleagues wrote in the study published in the March
2001 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001;55).
Of the infants Baqui and his colleagues studied, about half were
considered "low-birth weight" because they weighed less than
five pounds at birth, and 17 percent of all infants were born
premature. About half of the infants were exclusively breasted during
the first month of life, and less than 25 percent were still
exclusively breastfed after 3 months.
Once the babies were 6 months old, the infants who were both low-birth weight
and premature were on average, two pounds lighter and one to two
inches shorter than full-term, normal-weight babies.
The researchers found, however, that exclusively breastfed infants
weighed one-quarter pound more and grew one-quarter inch longer than
the infants who were partially breastfed or not breastfed at all.
The researchers ultimate conclusion: that food other than breastmilk
is not necessary - and may be detrimental in countries such as
Bangladesh - before 6 months of age.
Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2001;55.
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