WEANING IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL - IS THERE A WEANLINGS DILEMMA

In Pelotas, Brazil, 400 newborns from low income families were followe d-up until 26 wk of life to study the relationship between their feedi ng patterns and growth as modified by access to water and by diarrhea. Effects of access to water were the strongest among non-breastfed inf ants. In houses without indoor water taps, the weight gain of non-brea stfed infants during the first 3 mo was approximately half that of par tially or predominantly breastfed infants (P < 0.001). In houses with indoor water taps, non-breastfed infants' growth was similar to or exc eeded that of predominantly breastfed infants from 2 mo. Predominantly breastfed infants' growth was similar in houses with and without wate r taps. Breastfed infants had less weight loss per day of diarrhea tha n non-breastfed infants during the first 4 mo and less diarrhea throug h 6 mo of life, particularly in houses without taps, in which diarrhea was most prevalent. The existence of a ''weanling's dilemma'' was app roached by comparing the duration of the detrimental effects of not br eastfeeding (i.e., 0-3 mo in this study) with the age at which breast milk alone becomes less than optimal for growth (i.e., at 5 mo). Becau se these two points did not coincide, we conclude that there is no ''w eanling's dilemma'' in this population.