Use of breastfeeding and relationship with the nutritional status in infants under simonths. General hospital of Perú.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association between breastfeeding and nutritional status in children under six months of age who attend to the control of growth and development in a General Hospital of Peru in 2018. Materials and methods: Observational, descriptive and comparative study in 218 mother-child pairs, assisted in the Growth and Development Service of a General Hospital of Peru. A survey was applied to the mother of the infant and the anthropometric measures were compared with the growth charts proposed by the WHO. Results: According to weight for age there was malnutrition in 35 (16.1%) and overweight in 3 (1.4%). According to size for age, it was severely low in 26 (11.9%) and low in 38 (17.4%). Regarding weight for height, 13 (6.0%) were found to be severely malnourished, 6 (2.8%) undernourished, 8 (3.7%) were overweight and 26 (11.9%) were obese. Exclusive breastfeeding was reported in 184 (80.70%) of the mothers interviewed while mixed feeding in 30 (13.16%). The feeding only with milk formula was reported in 4 (1.75%) of the children. There was a statistically significant relationship between the type of lactation and weight for age (p <0.05). Conclusion: There is an association between breastfeeding and nutritional status according to weight for age in children under six months of age who attended the growth and development control in a General Hospital of Peru in 2018.