Open AccessGrowth pattern of exclusively breastfed infants in the first six months of life: A study of babies delivered at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching of hospital, River State, Nigeria
Author(s) -
BE Otaigbe,
E A D Alikor,
K E O Nkanginieme
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
nigerian journal of medicine/the nigerian journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2667-0526
pISSN - 1115-2613
DOI - 10.4314/njm.v14i2.37170
Subject(s) - port harcourt , medicine , breastfeeding , pediatrics , birth weight , breast feeding , prospective cohort study , anthropometry , longitudinal study , low birth weight , demography , pregnancy , surgery , pathology , socioeconomics , sociology , biology , genetics
Some authors demonstrate that exclusively breastfed infants have growth patterns comparable with the NCHS standards while others conclude that exclusively breastfed infants grow slower. These conflicting results informed the need for this study to aid the paediatricians and health workers to justify or condemn the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for six months. This was a prospective longitudinal study carried out to determine the growth pattern of exclusively breastfed infants in the first 6 months of life and compare them with the International, National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS/WHO) reference and the Local, Janes' Elite Standards.