Literature review for - Flourish Paediatrics

they noted that “during the first 6 monthss of life, WHO weight and a length at all percentiles
are larger than weight and length by any other chart. ” When compared to the NCHS and
CDC 2000 references, the new
WHO reference is heavier for the first six months of life as
can be seen in the weight-for-age comparisons in Figure 1 (WHO 2006; dee Onis, Garza et al.
2007) (Binns and Lee 2006). The reasons for this are not know, but probably relate to
the
highly selected sample, with less than 4%
of the infants screened being included in the
final
sample.
Figure 1. Comparison of weight-for-age
Z scores for boys (neww WHO reference (solid lines);
old WHO-NCHS reference (dashed lines) ).
Z-Scores -3 to +3 shown ((WHO 2006), Page 105)
Age
(months)
Breastfeeding patterns are usually established while the mother is in hospital or soon after.
Weight monitoring
by the mother and community health services is commenced after the
infant is
dischargedd from hospital. At this point there are no further opportunities to begin
breastfeeding. If growth patterns are to influence breastfeeding
in the first six monthss of life,
it may be to reducee breastfeeding rates, ‘exclusive’ or ‘any’ breastfeeding.
It is important to
determine if the new WHO growth reference could influence breastfeedingg rates, particularly
for the first six months infantss
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