Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka and North Colombo Teaching Hospital Ragama, Sri Lanka.
Int Breastfeed J. 2011 Nov 21;6:18. doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-6-18.
Feeding during early childhood is important for normal physical and mental growth as well as for health in later life. Currently, Sri Lanka has adopted the WHO recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for six months, followed by addition of complementary feeds thereafter, with continuation of breastfeeding up to or beyond two years. This study was conducted to evaluate the current feeding practices among Sri Lankan children during early childhood.
This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Ragama Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area. It was conducted between 10 August 2010 and 30 October 2010. Children between the ages of 24 and 60 months, attending child welfare clinics, were included in the study on consecutive basis. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data regarding sociodemographic characteristics and feeding practices.
There were 208 boys and 202 girls in the study population. Of them, 255 (62.2%) were exclusively breastfed up to 6 months. Younger children had a statistically significant, higher rate of exclusive breastfeeding compared to older children. Three hundred and fifty one (85.6%) children had received infant formula, and it was started before the age of 6 months in 61 children, and in 212 before one year. Sugar was added to infant formula in 330 (80.4%) children, and out of them 144 had sugar added within first year of life. Complementary foods were started before 4 months in 29 (7%) children. Of the 410 children, 294 (71.7%) were breastfed beyond 2 years and 41.6% of them were breastfed at regular intervals throughout the day. Three hundred and thirty eight (82.6%) children were receiving overnight feeding of either breast milk or infant formula even after 2 years.
Though a high rate of exclusive breastfeeding was observed in this study population, there are many other issues related to feeding during the early years of life that need immediate intervention. Too early introduction of complementary food, using infant formula without an indication, adding sugar to infant formula, too frequent breastfeeding and overnight feeding of older children are among them.
婴幼儿期的喂养对正常的身心成长以及日后的健康都很重要。目前，斯里兰卡已采用世界卫生组织（WHO）的建议，即婴儿在 6 个月内应进行纯母乳喂养，此后添加补充食品，并持续母乳喂养至 2 岁或更久。本研究旨在评估斯里兰卡婴幼儿的当前喂养实践。
本研究为描述性横断面研究，在拉加马医疗官卫生区进行。研究于 2010 年 8 月 10 日至 10 月 30 日进行。连续纳入年龄在 24 至 60 个月、在儿童保健诊所就诊的儿童。使用访谈者管理的问卷收集社会人口统计学特征和喂养实践相关的数据。
研究人群中有 208 名男孩和 202 名女孩。其中，255 名（62.2%）婴儿在 6 个月内进行了纯母乳喂养。年龄较小的儿童进行纯母乳喂养的比例明显高于年龄较大的儿童。351 名（85.6%）儿童接受了婴儿配方奶粉，61 名儿童在 6 个月龄前开始接受，212 名儿童在 1 岁前开始接受。330 名（80.4%）儿童在婴儿配方奶粉中添加了糖，其中 144 名儿童在生命的头 1 年添加了糖。29 名（7%）儿童在 4 个月前开始添加补充食品。在 410 名儿童中，294 名（71.7%）儿童在 2 岁后继续母乳喂养，其中 41.6%的儿童在白天有规律地进行母乳喂养。338 名（82.6%）儿童即使在 2 岁后仍进行夜间母乳喂养，无论是母乳喂养还是婴儿配方奶粉。
尽管本研究人群中观察到较高的纯母乳喂养率，但仍存在许多其他与婴幼儿期喂养相关的问题需要立即干预。过早引入补充食品、无指征使用婴儿配方奶粉、在婴儿配方奶粉中添加糖、过于频繁的母乳喂养以及较大儿童的夜间喂养均属于此类问题。
