Perspectives in maternal-infant nutrition

This paper examines the special problem and nutritional needs of those most vulnerable to malnutrition -- infants, children, and pregnant and lactating mothers -- and recommends specific remedial practices and programs. Pregnant mothers are usually undernourished, one cause of their offspring"s contraction of preventable diseases or deficencies, such as anemia or cretinism. The incidence of "low birth weight babies" is due to maternal infections, anemia, and reduced food intake; such infants are quite susceptible to infection, congenital defects, and death. Malnourished mothers also produce 33-50% less milk than their nourished counterparts. More mothers are either reducing the period of infant breast-feeding or abandoning it entirely in favor of formula feeding. This shift to formula feeding is due to such factors as convenience, urbanization, the lack of encouragement by health professionals for breast-feeding, and the aggressive advertising and local sales campaigns conducted by the formula companies. Formula feeding often transmits fatal bacteria, such as those causing diarrhea, through the polluted water used in its mixture. Due to its high cost, mothers dilute the formula to obtain larger quantities, resulting in the child"s undernourishment. On the other hand, breast-feeding leads to lower infant morbidity and mortality rates due to its sterility, nutrients, and high antibody count. Its other benefits are its comparative low cost, ideal use as a weaning supplement, and child spacing effect. This report recommends that health personnel strongly encourage the practice of breast-feeding to dispel misconceptions and to ensure better child nutrition. Calorie-protein studies should be instituted and followed by integrated health and nutrition interventions, especially in family planning and mother/child health programs. The mother should be the focus of these efforts as the most cost-effective and enduring means of ensuring the infant"s health. Marketing practices and misleading information by formula companies should be minimized. A 28-item bibliography (1966-78) is appended.