MATERNAL ANTHROPOMETRY AND INFANT-FEEDING PRACTICES IN ISRAEL IN RELATION TO GROWTH IN INFANCY - THE NORTH-AFRICAN INFANT-FEEDING STUDY

Relations between maternal anthropometric status during pregnancy and infant feeding practices and growth from birth through the first 6 mo of life were examined in a cohort of 351 Israeli mother-infant pairs o f North African descent. Maternal weight, height, and triceps skinfold thicknesses were determined at 6 and 9 mo of pregnancy, while infants ' weights and lengths were measured at birth and at 1, 2, 3, and 6 mo of age with concurrent collection of age-specific maternal-reported in fant feeding data. On the basis of multiple-linear-regression analysis that adjusted for potential covariates, mean maternal weight at the f irst prenatal visit and at 6 and 9 mo of pregnancy were positively ass ociated with birth length (P for trend in all cases <0.0001) and with linear growth between birth and 1, 3, and 6 mo of age. Maternal skinfo ld thickness at 9 mo of pregnancy and maternal height were also signif icantly associated with birth length. Moreover, maternal height, weigh t, and skinfold thickness at 6 and 9 mo of pregnancy were positively a ssociated with mean birth weight. After adjustment for morbidity in th e past month and other covariates, infants breast-fed exclusively had greater attained weight and weight gain in the first 3 mo compared wit h infants who were bottle-fed exclusively, breast-fed and bottle-fed, or solid-fed exclusively. These findings underscore the need for progr ams that improve the nutritional status of women before, during, and a fter pregnancy, and encourage exclusive breast-feeding of infants for at least the first 3 mo of life.