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Development milestones related to feeding status: evidence from the Child Health Supplement to the 1981 National Health Interview Survey
Author(s) -
Worobey John
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of human nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1365-277X
pISSN - 0952-3871
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-277x.1992.tb00176.x
Subject(s) - medicine , national health interview survey , breast feeding , child health , developmental milestone , toilet , child development , pediatrics , family medicine , environmental health , population , psychiatry , pathology
This study examines maternal reports of the health and attainment of developmental milestones for 1374 breast‐fed v. 1414 formula‐fed infants. Data were drawn from the 1981 Child Health Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS‐CHS), a nationally representative sample of some 40 000 households in the United States of America. The results showed smiling to be reported earlier for the infants of breast‐feeding mothers. Formula‐feeding mothers were quicker to introduce their infants to solid foods, and also reported earlier success in toilet‐training their infants than did breast‐feeding mothers. Ratings of physical health were comparatively better for the breastfed than for the bottle‐fed infants. Although partially accounted for by duration of breast‐feeding, demographic factors of low family income and maternal education predicted poorer infant health. These findings suggest that feeding method may modestly influence infant social development and physical well‐being.