Authors:

Abstract

Background: The advantages of exclusive breastfeeding (BF) in the first 6 months of life with complementary feeding afterwards is well established but till when should BF be continued has long been a matter of debate.

Objectives: To study the inter-relationship between prolonged BF (beyond 1 year of age) and nutritional status in terms of wasting and stunting in children from15 months to 3 years of age.

Method: This case-control study included 350 children aged 15 to 36 months belonging to the lower socioeconomic class visiting the free outpatient department (OPD) of Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre, 250 children with BF for more than 12 months as cases and 100 children BF for one year or less as controls. Socio-demographic factors like parents’ educational status and occupation, family type and family size were taken. Child characteristics like age, sex, recent illness, past illness, birth order and current feeding status were taken and recorded on a pre-coded and pre-tested proforma. Weight and height/length were taken as nutritional parameters and classified as wasting, stunting and underweight as per World Health Organisation (WHO) growth charts. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 17. The clinical profile and nutritional status was analysed by Chi-square test for qualitative variables and student t-test for quantitative variables. Correlation between the duration of BF and nutritional status was done by Spearman/Pearson correlation test. Confounding factors were assessed in linear regression analysis. 

Results: The nutritional status as per the anthropometric indices studied for (height/length for age, weight for height/length, weight for age) was found to have no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The prevalence of malnutrition as per the anthropometric indices studied was found to be quite high but comparable to the NFHS-3 data for India and the UNICEF-WHO data for South Asia.

Conclusion: There was no inter-relationship between the prolonged BF and the nutritional status of the children aged 15 to 36 months.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2017; 46(4): 362-365

Keywords: Prolonged breast feeding, complementary feeding, wasting, stunting, WHO growth charts