Effects Of Feeding Patterns On The Growth And Development Of Infants Aged 1 To 6 Months

ObjectiveThe study was conducted to analyze the prevalence of the feeding situation of infants aged 1 to 6 months in Heping District and Beichen District of Tianjin,and to explore the relationships between different feeding patterns and physical development and neuropsychological development through physical examination and neuropsychological development assessment,which may provide reasonable feeding advice to infants.MethodsThe study was to collect 1267 infants aged 1 month who participated in a 42-day examination from July 2015 to July 2017 at Women and Children Health and Family Planning Service Center of Heping District and Shuangjie Town Health Service Center of Beichen District,and then follow-up 6 months.The general maternal demographics,maternal maternity data,and information of baby birth.The physical development indicators,neuropsychological development indicators and feeding information of infants(aged 1,3 and 6 months)were measured and collected.The Neuropsychological Development Scale for Children 0 to 6 Years of Age was used to evaluate the neuropsychological development levels of infants from the five energy regions,including gross motor,fine motor,adaptive abilities,language,social behavior,and total developmental quotient.The Z score was used to evaluate the physical development of infants.The general description of quantitative data was represented by(?)±SD,and analysis of Variance was used to compare the differences between groups.The general description of the qualitative data was represented by rate or percentage,and ?~2 test was used to compare the differences between groups.Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze influencing factors of feeding patterns at different months.The relationship between feeding patterns and neuropsychological development of infants were examined using logistic regression and repeated measures analysis of variance.Multivariate linear regression was used to explore the relationship between feeding patterns and physical development of infants.Results1.In this study,the exclusive breastfeeding rate was 54.2%at 1 month,41.2%at 3 months,only 19.6%at 6 months.2.Influencing factors of infant feeding patterns at different months:Maternal age was the main factor which affect exclusive breastfeeding of infants at 1,3,and 6 months of age.Young mothers(<30 years old)have a higher exclusive breastfeeding rate.At 6 months of age,the rate of exclusive breastfeeding was higher in infants delivered by cesarean section.3.Effects of feeding patterns on neuropsychological development of infants: Compared with the artificial feeding group,infants in the exclusive breastfeeding group had higher scores of language and total development quotient at the age of 1 month(P<0.05),and the infants in mixed feeding group had higher scores in the language area(P<0.05).At 3 months of age,the infants in exclusive breastfeeding group had higher scores in language area than those in artificial feeding group(P<0.05);the infants in the mixed feeding group had higher scores in adaptive ability,language,and total development quotient than those in artificial feeding group(P<0.05).At the age of 6 months,there was no correlation between the feeding patterns and total development quotient and five energy regions(P>0.05).4.Infants aged 1 month in exclusive breastfeeding group obtained higher body weight and weight-for-age Z score(WAZ)than those in mixed feeding group(P<0.05).Infants aged 3 months in exclusive breastfeeding group obtained higher body weight,body length and WAZ than those in mixed feeding group(P<0.05). Infants aged 6 months in exclusive breastfeeding group obtained higher body length and weight-for-length Z score(WLZ)than those in mixed feeding group(P<0.05).ConclusionThe infant's exclusive breastfeeding rate was low in 6 months in Tianjin.Feeding patterns was affected by maternal age and delivery mode independently.Exclusive breastfeeding promotes the development in language energy areas of infants aged at 1month and 3 months.Mixed feeding promotes the development in language energy areas and social behavior areas of infants aged at 3 months.It may be related to breastfeeding duration in infants of the mixed feeding group and this conclusion needs further study.At the age of 6 months,there were no significant differences in the effects of the three feeding patterns on the gross movement,fine motor,adaptive capacity,language and social behavior.Exclusive breastfeeding was beneficial to the development of body weight and WAZ in infants at 1 month of age.Exclusive breastfeeding was beneficial to the development of body weight,body length and WAZ in infants at 3 months of age.Exclusive breastfeeding was beneficial to the development of body length and WLZ in infants at 6 months of age.Therefore,health education related to exclusive breastfeeding should be strengthened,and exclusive breastfeeding should be promoted to increase the infant's exclusive breastfeeding rate within 6 months of age and to promote infant physical development and neuropsychological development.