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Research Article
Volume 1 Issue 4 - 2017
Comparison of Nutritional Status between Exclusively Breastfed and Bottle fed Infants Aged 0-6 Months
Hafiza Syeda Samrina*
RLAK Govt. College of Home Economics, Clinical Dietitian/ Nutritionist, Dr.Ziauddin University Hospital, Clifton Campus, Karachi, Pakistan
*Corresponding Author: Hafiza Syeda Samrina, RLAK Govt. College of Home Economics, Clinical Dietitian/ Nutritionist, Dr.Ziauddin University Hospital, Clifton Campus, Karachi, Pakistan.
Received: August 15, 2017; Published: August 28, 2017
Abstract
Background: Despite the awareness of the advantages of exclusive breast feeding and the disadvantages of bottle feeding, the trend of exclusive breastfeeding has been declining and the trend of bottle feeding is rising.
Objective: To compare the nutritional status between exclusively breast fed and bottle fed infants aged 0-6 months.
Methodology: The subjects of study were 50 infants who were exclusively breast and 50 infants who were bottle fed for the first 6 months. The sample was collected from hospitals all over Karachi. Tool of data collection was a questionnaire that covered different aspects including demographic, anthropometric and overall health. A Chi-square test was applied.
Results: The results revealed that no significant differences were found in the nutritional status of both groups (p > 0.05) as 46% EBF infants were wasted and 70% infants were stunted and 44% were overweight when compared to BF infants i.e. 44% and 60% and 30% respectively. In addition, 18% EBF infants had normal head circumference for age when compared to BOF i.e. 16%. However the incidence of allergies, infection (cold & flu) and diarrhea was significantly (p < 0.05) more prevalent in BOF infants i.e. 8%, 23% and 16% respectively when compared to EBF infants i.e. 0%, 11% and 10% respectively.
Conclusion: There are no significant differences in the nutritional status of exclusively breast fed and bottle fed infants. However, the frequency of infection (cold & flu) and allergy is significantly more prevalent in BOF infants than EBF infants.
Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding; Bottle feeding; Stunting; Wasting; Diarrhea
Abbreviations: EBF: exclusive breast feeding; BOF: bottle feeding
Introduction
Breastfeeding especially exclusive breastfeeding play a crucial role in child nutrition and development status. Studies have shown that infant weight and height gains during early postnatal life are influenced by infant feeding practices Nutritional problems of children are to a large extent associated with inappropriate feeding practices. This is revealed in a research study that took place in Tanzania where infants were assessed regarding their feeding practices. The study indicated that infants, who received exclusive breast feeding till 4 months, had a good nutritional status as compared to the infants who received non-exclusive breast feeding. Several guidelines have been developed to promote appropriate infant feeding including the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). The World Health Organization recommends EBF for the first six months of life. This recommendation is based on evidence of the importance of good nutrition in the early months of life and the role it has in achieving good health. The benefits include prevention of disease and infection in childhood childhood3 4 and improved cognitive and motor skills development. Since the bottle feeding practices are getting more prevalent in Pakistan (i.e. 41%) than exclusive breast feeding (i.e. 37.7%). In Pakistan, mothers are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of breast and bottle feeding but a disparity is observed between their perception and practices (Ali., et al. 2011). Due to the rising rates of bottle feeding practices rather than EBF, it is important to bring a change in mothers feeding practices and spread the benefits of EBF to their infants. There are no previous studies done to compare if there are significant differences among the nutritional status of infants who are exclusively breast fed with bottle fed infants. Hence i carried out this study to find out if the nutritional status of exclusively breast fed infants varies with that of bottle fed infants.
Methodology
The data consisted of a purposive sample of 100 infants aged 0-6 months including males. The sample consisted of 50 infants who were exclusively breast fed and 50 bottle fed infants during the first 6 months. Mothers of the infants were interviewed. Tool of data collection was a questionnaire that involved demographic and anthropometric profile and the incidence of infections, allergies and diarrhea. The anthropometric characteristics were analyzed through WHO growth charts. A Chi-square test was applied.
Results
A purposive sample of 100 infants aged 0-6 months was collected. The sample consisted of 50 exclusively breastfed infants and 50 bottle fed infants. Mothers of the infants were interviewed regarding different aspects. Tool of data collection was a questionnaire. The subjects were recruited from different hospitals of Karachi in order to compare the nutritional status of exclusively breast fed infants with the bottle fed infants. The study revealed that majority of the exclusively breast fed infants were stunted i.e. 70% and 46% were wasted when compared to bottle fed infants i.e. 60% and 44% respectively. It was revealed that bottle feeding was associated with good weight for age scores, and exclusive breast feeding was associated with reduced or no prevalence of infection (cold& flu) allergy among infants.
Demographic Characteristics of the Subjects
The sample consisted of 100 infants. Data was collected using a purposive sample technique. Majority of the infants were boys and most infants were 1-2 months old. Majority of their mothers were highly educated and belonged to high income family.
Gender Frequency/Percentages
Boys 55
Girls 45
AGE  
0-1 months 14
1-2 months 23
2-3 months 20
3-4 months 15
4-5 months 14
5-6 months 14
Mother’s Education Level  
Non Educated 03
< Matriculate 11
> Matriculate 18
Graduate 68
Income Level  
> 20000 38
> 50000 62
Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Subjects.
Comparison of Anthropometric Characteristics of Exclusively Breast Fed and Bottle Fed Infants
Infant’s weight-for-length, length-for-age, weight-for-length and head circumference-for-age were assessed through WHO growth charts. The results revealed that no significant differences were found in the weight-for-length (p = 0.086), weight-for-age (p = 0.197) and length-for-age (p = 0.138) of both groups. But as far as the head circumference-for-age is concerned, there was a significant difference (p = 0.05) among both groups.
Comparison of Stunting, Wasting and Overweight Among Exclusively Breastfed and Bottle-Fed Infants
Less bottle-fed infants were stunted when compared to exclusively breast-fed infants i.e. 60% and 70% respectively.46% of bottle-fed infants were wasted which was approximately same as exclusively breast-fed infants i.e. 44%. But overall no significant differences were found in stunting (p = 0.138), wasting (p = 0.086) and overweight (p = 0.197) among both groups of infants.
Figure 1: Comparison of Anthropometric Parameters of Exclusively Breastfed and Bottle-fed infants.
Figure 2: Comparison of stunting, wasting and overweight exclusively breast-fed and bottle fed infants.
Bottle-Fed Infants Exclusively Breast-Fed Infants
Figure 3: Comparison of the frequency of stools among exclusively breast-fed and bottle fed infants.
Figure 4: Comparison of the frequency of stools among exclusively breast-fed and bottle fed infants.
Frequency of infections, diarrhea and allergy among exclusively breast-fed and bottle fed infants
The results revealed that no significant differences were found in the frequency of asthma (p = 0-264) and pneumonia (p = 0.10) in most of the exclusively breast-fed and bottle-fed infants. But, the frequency of cold and flu was more prevalent in bottle fed infants with a significant difference (p = .05). Also, there were no significant differences (p = 0.254) in the frequency of diarrhea among both groups of infants. In addition, the frequency of allergy was also prevalent in bottle fed infants with a significant difference (p = 0.001).
Frequency of stools among exclusively breast-fed and bottle fed infants
According to the results, diarrhea was more common in BF infants than in EBF infants as it shows that in BF infants 50% reported diarrhea but according to the definition of diarrhea, only 26% infants were suffering from diarrhea. Similarly, 34% EBF infants reported diarrhea but according to the definition of diarrhea, only 24% were actually suffering from diarrhea with no significant difference (p = 0.245).
Discussion
The study assessed that majority of the exclusively breastfed infants were stunted when compared to bottle fed infants. These results vary from a research that was conducted in Tanzania where EBF was associated with higher scores for height- for- age (John.G., et al. 2013). A possible reason could be the nutritional status of the mothers or the way they feed their infants. Since improper position of the baby at breast can be a major reason for his poor nutritional status.
Conclusion
It was concluded that there are no significant differences between the nutritional status of exclusively breast fed and bottle fed infants. However the incidence of allergy and infection (cold & flu) was prevalent in bottle fed infants.
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Citation: Hafiza Syeda Samrina. “Comparison of Nutritional Status between Exclusively Breastfed and Bottle fed Infants Aged 0-6 Months”. Nutrition and Food Toxicology 1.4 (2017): 160-165.
Copyright: © 2017 Hafiza Syeda Samrina. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.