Feeding During Late Infancy And Early Childhood

In its resolution WHA54.2 (2001) the WHO recommends the promotion and support of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, and then the provision of safe and appropriate complementary foods whilst continuing breastfeeding until 2 years of age or beyond. The 56 Nutrition Workshop has been specifically developed to review the medical and scientific aspects of these topics and to sustain the Nestle Development Nutrition Program (NDNP).

This book focuses on a crucial moment in human life: the introduction of solid foods to the diet during late infancy and early childhood. The impact on health and development as well as the long-term effects and prevention of disease are analyzed by a panel of leading international experts. The immediate consequences of solid foods on the health of toddlers are studied with regard to allergic diseases, diarrhea and constipation. The late effects of weaning habits, such as obesity, diabetes, and the early influences on taste preferences are also dealt with in this publication. Each of the topics is introduced by a chapter on physiology, followed by further contributions on major clinical aspects. Finally the book offers educational recommendations for industry, physicians and parents, underlining the values of a diversified diet. Pediatricians, dieticians, nutritionists and researchers will find this book a reliable reference and valuable tool for their work.

The Model Chapter on Infant and Young Child Feeding is intended for use in basic training of health professionals. It describes essential knowledge and basic skills that every health professional who works with mothers and young children should master. The Model Chapter can be used by teachers and students as a complement to textbooks or as a concise reference manual.

WHO and UNICEF jointly developed this global strategy to focus world attention on the impact that feeding practices have on the nutritional status, growth and development, health, and thus the very survival of infants and young children. The strategy is the result of a comprehensive two-year participatory process. It is based on the evidence of nutrition's significance in the early months and years of life, and of the crucial role that appropriate feeding practices play in achieving optimal health outcomes. The strategy is intended as a guide for action; it identifies interventions with a proven positive impact; it emphasizes providing mothers and families the support they need to carry out their crucial roles, and it explicitly defines the obligations and responsibilities in this regards of governments, international organizations, and other concerned parties.

Recommendations for feeding infants and young children have changed substantially over time owing to scientific advances, cultural influences, societal trends, and other factors. At the same time, stronger approaches to reviewing and synthesizing scientific evidence have evolved, such that there are now established protocols for developing evidence-based health recommendations. However, not all authoritative bodies have used such approaches for developing infant feeding guidance, and for many feeding questions there is little or no sound evidence available to guide best practices, despite the fact that research on infant and young child feeding has expanded in recent decades. Summarizing the current landscape of feeding recommendations for infants and young children can reveal the level of consistency of existing guidance, shed light on the types of evidence that underpin each recommendation, and provide insight into the feasibility of harmonizing guidelines. Feeding Infants and Children from Birth to 24 Months collects, compares, and summarizes existing recommendations on what and how to feed infants and young children from birth to 24 months of age. This report makes recommendations to stakeholders on strategies for communicating and disseminating feeding recommendations.

In this book, a selected group of international experts review nutritional practices and feeding behaviors in infancy and early childhood. They present the latest knowledge on feeding practices during the period considered and their effect on growth, development, and immediate and long-term health. One of the main topics discussed involves feeding practices in the newborn critical care unit, concentrating on the use of human donor milk and probiotics in the diet of premature and ill newborns. Another point of focus is the causes and the effect of an insufficient intake of selected micronutrients, such as iron and zinc, which is highly prevalent particularly in the developing world. Besides, this publication contains information on the influence of early feeding habits on the later development of a number of health-related issues such as food allergies, later food preferences and eating habits, obesity, bone development, the risk of developing celiac disease in genetically predisposed children.This volume provides essential reading for pediatricians, clinical investigators and health workers interested in the effects of early nutrition on health.

Promoting Responsive Feeding During Breastfeeding, Bottle-Feeding, and the Introduction to Solid Foods addresses how caregiver feeding practices and styles shape the quality and outcome of feeding interactions during infancy. Emphasis is placed on how the quality and nature of caregiver-child interactions during breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, and the introduction to solid foods shape the development of children’s eating behaviors, growth trajectories and chronic disease risk. The book also considers the potential influence of broader contextual factors on early feeding interactions, including how psychological, social, cultural and economic factors may influence caregivers’ abilities to implement feeding recommendations. Highlights the importance of responsive, or infant-led feeding practices and styles Promotes high-quality caregiver-infant interactions during breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and the introduction to solid foods Discusses the socioemotional and cognitive benefits of high-quality feeding interactions