Abstract
Objective: To investigate the influences of size at birth, breastfeeding and morbidity on growth during infancy in poor areas of urban Bangladesh.
Design: This was a prospective observational study of a cohort of newborn infants followed until 12 months of age.
Setting: Slum areas of Dhaka City in Bangladesh.
Subjects: A total of 1654 newborn infants were enrolled at birth, and follow-up was completed for 1207 infants. Repeated anthropometric measurements and interviews of caretakers on infant feeding and morbidity were conducted. A mixed effects regression method was used for modeling infant growth.
Results: After adjusting for other variables, mean differences in body weight by birth weight and length, small-for-gestational age and prematurity categories remained relatively constant throughout infancy. A positive impact of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 3–5 months on infant growth was detectable at 12 months of age. Although the bigger babies in the sample tended to grow relatively even bigger; exclusive breastfeeding appeared to counteract this pattern. Reported diarrhoea was associated with lower body weights and lengths even after adjusting for feeding patterns.
Conclusions: Size at birth has an important role in determining growth during infancy. Effective strategies for improving birth weight, poorly addressed till now in Bangladesh, are needed. The sustained effect on growth and the even more beneficial effect in lighter infants are compelling reasons for promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in early infancy.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001) 55, 167–178
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Guarantor: SE Arifeen.
Contributors: SEA, REB, GA and AHB developed the study and its design. SEA and GA were responsible for the implementation of field work. SEA, REB and LEC designed the analysis. SEA drafted the manuscript, which was then revised by all the investigators.
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arifeen, S., Black, R., Caulfield, L. et al. Determinants of infant growth in the slums of Dhaka: size and maturity at birth, breastfeeding and morbidity. Eur J Clin Nutr 55, 167–178 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601141
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601141
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Prelacteal feeding is not associated with infant size at 3 months in rural Bangladesh: a prospective cohort study
International Breastfeeding Journal (2024)
-
Is there a threshold level of maternal education sufficient to reduce child undernutrition? Evidence from Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe
BMC Pediatrics (2015)
-
Determinants of stunting and severe stunting among under-fives in Tanzania: evidence from the 2010 cross-sectional household survey
BMC Pediatrics (2015)
-
Undernutrition among HIV-positive children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: antiretroviral therapy alone is not enough
BMC Public Health (2011)
-
Determinants of infant growth in Eastern Uganda: a community-based cross-sectional study
BMC Public Health (2008)