Abstract
The objective of the current analysis was to compare the pattern of age-of-introduction of commonly consumed complementary foods in the western highlands with what has been reported from the central highlands of Guatemala. Age-of-introduction of 10 sentinel foods was queried by means of structured face-to-face interviews in mothers of 6 to 11 months old infants living in Quetzaltenango (n = 114). The mean age-of-introduction was earlier in the metropolitan Quetzaltenango series than in both of the central highland locations, rural and urban. We concluded that different patterns of early introduction of food and beverage items contribute to the precocious occurrence of mixed feeding (MF) in the first semester of infancy in distinct regions of Guatemala. Key words: Complementary foods, self-reported, infant nutrition, Guatemala.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2003) recommended as basic infant feeding: “exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond”
The same battery of sentinel items was included in our crosssectional study among infants and toddlers in the western highlands, and additional questions were included relating the exact age-of-introduction of foods other than breast milk, such as water-based drinks, infant formula and other foods
The objective of the current analysis was to compare the pattern of age-of-introduction of commonly consumed complementary foods in the western highlands with what has been reported from two areas in the central highlands of Guatemala
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2003) recommended as basic infant feeding: “exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond”. Any violation of exclusivity of breastfeeding with introduction of water based liquids converts that pattern to one of partial breastfeeding (PBF) Both exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and PBF constitute a state of “full breastfeeding” according to the WHO criteria (WHO, 2003). It is, the introduction of foods and complex beverages which converts the pattern to one of mixed feeding (MF). 2003; Kramer and Kakuma, 2009).A series of studies in a rural village in the central highlands (Campos et al, 2010; Soto-Méndez et al, 2012) and a poor settlement in Guatemala City (Hernández et al, 2011; Soto-Méndez et al, 2012) revealed high rates of premature introduction of foods or beverages, that is, before 6 months of age.
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