NCCF, Department of Human Development at Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, 39, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2009 Nov;13(6):795-805. doi: 10.1007/s10995-008-0401-x. Epub 2008 Oct 7.
To explore the different combinations of early feeding practices and their association with child illness in toddlerhood (i.e., asthma, respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, and ear infections).
The Early Child Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) offers a unique opportunity to address this issue, as the study features a nationally representative sample of children and includes important questions on early feeding behaviors as well as an extensive list of background characteristics on the families. Using a subsample of approximately 7,900 children from the ECLS-B, data from the 9 month and 2 year collections were analyzed to define the occurrence of three feeding practices during infancy (i.e., by age 6 months) identify the key combinations of these practices, and examine associations between these combinations and child illness via logistic regression.
Results indicate that 70% of parents initiated breastfeeding, 78% introduced formula and/or solid food before 6 months, 74% introduced solid food, and 15% introduced finger foods before 6 months. The most frequent feeding combinations were: breast milk with formula and solid/finger food (36%), formula with solid/finger food (24%), breast milk with formula (11%), breast milk with solid/finger food (14%), exclusive breast milk (8%), and exclusive formula (7%). After controlling for key demographic and family characteristics, results indicated that children who were exclusively breastfed were less likely to experience respiratory or ear infections than those experiencing other feeding combinations. No differences were found in rates of asthma or gastrointestinal infections.
This study provides insights for parents, medical professionals, and policy makers on the typical feeding practices and best practices for positive health outcomes in early childhood.
探索不同的早期喂养方式组合及其与幼儿期疾病（即哮喘、呼吸道感染、胃肠道感染和耳部感染）的关联。
早期儿童纵向研究-出生队列（ECLS-B）为解决这一问题提供了独特的机会，因为该研究具有全国代表性的儿童样本，并包括有关早期喂养行为的重要问题以及有关家庭的广泛背景特征列表。使用 ECLS-B 的约 7900 名儿童的子样本，分析了 9 个月和 2 年的数据，以定义婴儿期（即 6 个月时）三种喂养方式的发生情况，确定这些喂养方式的关键组合，并通过逻辑回归检查这些组合与儿童疾病之间的关联。
结果表明，70%的父母开始母乳喂养，78%的父母在 6 个月前引入配方奶和/或固体食物，74%的父母在 6 个月前引入固体食物，15%的父母在 6 个月前引入手指食物。最常见的喂养组合是：母乳加配方奶和固体/手指食物（36%）、配方奶加固体/手指食物（24%）、母乳加配方奶（11%）、母乳加固体/手指食物（14%）、纯母乳喂养（8%）和纯配方奶（7%）。在控制了关键的人口统计学和家庭特征后，结果表明，与经历其他喂养方式的儿童相比，纯母乳喂养的儿童患呼吸道或耳部感染的可能性较小。在哮喘或胃肠道感染的发生率方面没有差异。
本研究为父母、医疗专业人员和政策制定者提供了有关典型喂养方式和促进幼儿健康的最佳实践的见解。
