Determination of the Nutritional Pattern in Lactating Mothers and Its Effect on Infant's Growth in Tabriz and Its Rural Districts

According to WHO recommendation on importance of breastfeeding on infants` health and growth and also with regards to the effect of maternal nutritional status on quality and quantity of milk production, this study was carried out to investigate the nutritional pattern of lactating mothers and its effect on infant's growth status.

Mother's and infant's general characteristics and anthropometric measurements were collected from 182 urban and rural lactating mothers who were exclusively breast feeding their infants aged 90-120 days. Information on mother's dietary intake was collected using 24-hour recall method and the results compared with RDA. Multiple Regression model was performed to analyze the association between dietary intake of mothers and anthropometric measurements of infants.

The mean daily energy intake of mothers (2390±405 kcal/d) was significantly lower than RDA (2733 kcal), but it was close to calculated energy values (2458±258kcal). The mean energy intake of urban mothers was significantly lower than mothers in rural areas (P<0.05). The mean intake of bread, vegetables and cheese was higher in rural mothers, while the mean intake of rice, milk, yogurt and meat was significantly higher in urban mothers (P<0.05). The mean weight of infants was significantly correlated with BMI of nursing mothers (P<0.05, = ß 0.49). In group of mothers who were consuming more than 2500 Kcal, the mean weight of infants was significantly higher than the other group (P<0.03).

The observed positive effects of maternal dietary intake on infants` growth rate indicate the need for implementing proper nutritional educational programs in order to improve dietary intake of lactating mothers.