Nutr Res Pract.  2011 Aug;5(4):308-312.

Association of infant feeding practices in the general population with infant growth and stool characteristics

• Han Y
• Chang EY
• Kim J
• Ahn K
• Kim HY
• Hwang EM
• Lowry D
• Prosser C
• Lee SI

Abstract

This was a prospective cohort study of 976 infants from birth to 12 months of age. Infants were fed breast milk, goat infant formula, cow infant formula, or a combination of formula and breast milk during the first 4 months of age. Data on type of milk feeding and infant growth (weight and height) were collected at birth and at 4, 8, and 12 months during routine clinical assessment. The number and consistency of bowel motions per day were recorded based on observational data supplied by the mothers. Infants fed breast milk or goat or cow infant formula during the first 4 months displayed similar growth outcomes. More of the infants fed cow infant formula had fewer and more well-formed bowel motions compared with breast-fed infants. The stool characteristics of infants fed goat formula resembled those of infants fed breast milk.

Keyword

Infant formula; infants; growth

MeSH Terms

Cohort Studies
Goats
Humans
Infant
Infant Formula
Milk
Milk, Human
Mothers
Parturition
Prospective Studies

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Weights and heights at 4, 8 and 12 months of infants fed breast milk, goat infant formula, or cow infant formula.

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  Fig. 2 Proportion of infants fed breast milk (unfilled bar), goat formula (black bar), or cow formula (grey bar) that had less than 1, 1, between 1 and 2, between 3 and 4, between 5 and 6, or more than 7 bowel motions per day between 0 and 4 months of age. Statistical significance between groups is indicated by horizontal line above bars.

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  Fig. 3 Proportion of infants fed breast milk (unfilled bar), goat formula (black bar), or cow formula (grey bar) that had runny, pasty, well-formed, or hard stools between 0 and 4 months. Statistical significance between groups is indicated by horizontal line above bars.

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