NUTRITIONAL CORRELATES OF FREQUENCY AND LENGTH OF BREAST-FEEDS IN RURAL BANGLADESH

In this rural Bangladeshi sample of 165 mothers and their breastfed in fants aged 5-23 months, mean maternal body mass index (BMI) was 18, an d 12-month infant height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), -2.35. Structured obs ervations were conducted over 6 months on 1649 breastfeeds during 3324 weekly daytime observations. Infants' and mothers' 24-h dietary recal ls, weights, lengths/heights and mothers' arm circumferences were take n monthly. When plotted with age, infants' anthropometric z-scores, fo od energy, and minutes observed breastfeeding revealed three patterns in age periods: 5-12, 13-18, and 19-23 months. In periods one (breastf eeding high) and three (breastfeeding low), food energy increased with age, linear growth paralleled the World Health Organization (WHO) ref erence standard, and the children grew thinner. In two, (breastfeeding declining), food energy did not increase and growth stasis occurred. Longer observed breastfeeding accompanied in period one, low maternal arm circumference, low infant energy intake from complementary foods a nd infant shortness and plumpness in period two, infant shortness, thi nness, and underweight; and in period three, infants energy and thinne ss. In conclusion, the paper suggests that growth stasis occurs primar ily during the second period, which should have highest priority for c ulturally sensitive interventions.