Breastfeeding and the weight-height development of the infant until the sixth month of life

Abstract

Objective: compare the weight-height growth of the infants at six months of life in exclusive breastfeeding and complementary or mixed breastfeeding. Method: transversal study, with 38 mothers and infants between the fifth and the sixty months of life, whose data collect occurred in primary health care units of a city in the West of the state of Paraná, Brazil. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was of 21% (n=8) of the sample. The anthropometrics variables (weight, height and head circumference - HC) of the infants in exclusive breastfeeding show lower averages to those in predominant breastfeeding and/or with use of formula. Conclusion: the weight-height growth of the infants at six months of life in exclusive breastfeeding and in complementary or mixed breastfeeding was inside of the expected for age. However, was evidenced low prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding.

Keywords

• breastfeeding
• artificial feeding
• early weaning
• growth