Breast feeding during pregnancy and child's growth

ABSTRACT

This is a cross-sectional study carried out to study the effect of nursing during Pregnancy on the growth and nutritional status of breast-fed children. Two groups of children under two years of age were included in the study. The first group was breast fed children of pregnant mothers [124], while the second group was breast fed children of non-pregnant mothers [159]. According to weight for age, it was found weight for length, the prevalence of acute malnutrition [weight for length < -2Z score] among children of pregnant mothers was 34.7% compared to 26.4% among children of non-pregnant mothers. The prevalence of both under nutrition and acute malnutrition [wasting] increased with the increase in the duration of pregnancy. Stage of pregnancy significantly and independently affected the prevalence of wasting. Careful growth monitoring of breast-fed children of pregnant mothers with special attention to dietary supplementation was recommended