NUTRITION AND PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT DUR ING THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF LIFE

Objective,To study the psychomotor development of young infants from a poor and underfed rural community and to correlate this with the nutr itional conditions of the mother during pregnancy and the child itself . Material and methods. We studied 82 mother-child pairs from the 5th month of pregnancy to the 6th month of life of the child as to anthrop ometry and food consumption. The neonatal Brazelton test and the Bayle y test at 3 and 6 months were applied to the child. Results. Several o f the neonatal psychomotor tests applied to the child correlate positi vely with the mother's weight and skin folds, as well as with the chil d's own previous weight and size. This was also true for maternal cons umption of animal foods and fruits during pregnancy. A negative correl ation was observed with the consumption of corn tortillas and beans. T he correlation of several tests applied to the child at six months was positive with its complementary consumption, total energy and several foods, specially egg, milk and fruit around three months of age. Conc lusions. Small variations in nutrition of the mother-child pairs from the poor rural community studied had consequences on the psychomotor d evelopment of the infant. These findings point to the need for more ap plied nutrition programs.