The “why” and “when” of introducing food to infants: growth in young breast-fed infants and some nutritional implications

The analysis of infant growth data from 2 study communities in The Gambia (Keneba and Bakau) suggests that growth standards derived from communities in the industrialized West are inappropriately high for developing countries at least for the 1st 6 months of life. In the Gambian communities early growth is sustained by breast milk alone. Although small-for-date infants are commonplace in these communities mean growth in weight in the 1st 2 months of life shows a marked catch-up effect presumably due to the self-regulated intake of breast milk. This compensatory phase is often constrained by the mothers lactation capacity. By 3 months infants may be suffering deficiencies of specific nutrients as a result of the high nutritional demands of catch-up growth. These findings indicate 2 tasks: 1) to foster policies leading to higher birth weights and improved lactation capacity and 2) to identify possible nutritional constraints on growth after 3 months of age.