American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 20, 375-385, Copyright © 1967 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Relationship of Morbidity to the Feeding Patterns of Navajo Children from Birth Through Twenty-Four Months

¹ From the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Cornell Medical School, New York, New York

This study of 139 Navajo infants from birth through 24 months of age shows breast feeding as the feeding pattern of choice in 73% of the babies at birth. Bottle feeding took place in 10% of the babies at birth; the other 17% were on both breast and bottle feedings. The place of birth did not seem to be an important factor in determining the type of feeding at birth, but economic factors might have played an important role in influencing the use of artificial feedings. Weaning did not occur in any of the children until 12 months of age, and after weaning many of the children received no milk. The average age when solid foods were added to the diet was 6-7 months. A food intake history revealed that in general the diets of the children were low in calories. Over half were inadequate in vitamins A and C and possibly other nutrients. Quantitative studies are necessary to determine more precisely the nutritional constituents of the diets of these children.

Observation of methods used in preparing formula and in feeding indicates a need for further education of Navajo mothers in these areas. The present methods provide ample opportunity for contamination and the spread of infection.

Breast fed babies show a better gain in weight during the first 7 months of life than bottle fed babies. Both groups showed a sharp decline in weight after 7 months of age, and the decline continued through the age of 24 months.

Bottle fed babies had a significantly higher incidence of diarrhea from birth through 12 months of age than breast fed babies. There was very little difference in the experience of total illness in these two groups. The incidence of hospital experience of the bottle fed babies was significantly higher than that of the breast fed babies for the first 9 months of life, but there was no difference in the morbidity pattern of bottle fed and breast fed babies after that time.

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