Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Jan 2005)
A study on the effects of zinc supplementation during lactation on the infant growth and development
Abstract
Background and purpose: Despite the vital effects of zinc on infant growth, the low zinc store of mothers especially in poor communities may lead to low content of zinc in their newborns. In the first 6 months of life, the young infant has a relatively high zinc requirement to support the very rapid growth of early infancy and growth retarding continues to be highly prevalent among children in low-Income countries. In this study we evaluated the effect of zinc supplementation on the infant growth and development.Materials and methods: In a randomized double blind controlled field trial, 500 lactating women were identified and enrolled into the study within 2 week of delivery. They were enrolled only if they intended to exclusively breast feed for 6 to 12 months. Height (Ht), head circumference HC, weight and development milestone were evaluated monthly to 12 months. Data were analyzed using spss 10 software.Results: WT. HT. and HC in infants of trial group were significantly higher than control group (p<0.05).Development milestone in trial group was seen earlier than in control group (p<0.05). There were negative correlations between birth WT and increasing WT in each month in trial and control groups. Conclusion: the objective of the present study was to determine the effects of maternal zinc intake on infant growth and development. Further researches is needed, to evaluate the zinc supplementation for lactating women or infant.
