FAITH, MYLES S., KELLEY S. SCANLON, LEANN L.BIRCH, LORI A. FRANCIS, AND BETTYLOU SHERRY. Parent-child feeding strategies and their relationships to child eating and weight status. Obes Res. 2004;12:1711-1722. Parental feeding styles may promote overeating or overweight in children. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to summarize the associations between parental feeding styles and child eating and weight status. Twentytwo studies were identified. We systematically coded study attributes and outcomes and tested for patterns of association. Nineteen studies (86%) reported at least one significant association between parental feeding style and child outcome, although study methodology and results varied considerably. Studies measuring parental feeding restriction, as opposed to general feeding control or another feeding domain, were more likely to report positive associations with child eating and weight status. Certain associations differed by gender and by outcome measurement (e.g., rate of eating as opposed to total energy intake). Parental feeding restriction, but no other feeding domain, was associated with increased child eating and weight status. Longitudinal studies are needed to test underlying causal pathways, including bidirectional causal models, and to substantiate findings in the presence of other obesity risk factors.

Our findings indicate that the major reasons why mothers stop breastfeeding before they desire include concerns about maternal or child health (infant nutrition, maternal illness or the need for medicine, and infant illness) and processes associated with breastfeeding (lactation and milk-pumping problems). Continued professional support may be necessary to address these challenges and help mothers meet their desired breastfeeding duration.

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The high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among African American women warrants further examination of vitamin D recommendations for these women. The determinants of hypovitaminosis D among women should be considered when these women are advised on dietary intake and supplement use.

OBJECTIVE. Infancy is a time of rapid transition from a diet of virtually nothing but milk (either breast milk or infant formula) to a varied diet from nearly all food groups being consumed on a daily basis by most infants. Despite various recommendations about infant feeding, little is known about actual patterns of feeding among US infants. This article documents transitions in infant feeding patterns across the first year of life and determinants of key aspects of infant feeding.METHODS. Using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, we analyzed responses to a 7-day food-recall chart that was administered every month. The sample size declined from 2907 at birth to 1782 at 12 months of age.RESULTS. Although 83% of survey respondents initiated breastfeeding, the percentage who breastfed declined rapidly to 50% at 6 months and to 24% at 12 months. Many of the women who breastfed also fed their infants formula; 52% reported that their infants received formula while in the hospital. At 4 months, 40% of the infants had consumed infant cereal, 17% had consumed fruit or vegetable products, and Ͻ1% had consumed meat. Compared with infants who were not fed solid foods at 4 months, those who were fed solid foods were more likely to have discontinued breastfeeding at 6 months (70% vs 34%) and to have been fed fatty or sugary foods at 12 months (75% vs 62%).CONCLUSIONS. Supplementing breast milk with infant formula while infants were still in the hospital was very common. Despite recommendations that complementary foods not be introduced to infants aged 4 months or younger, almost half of the infants in this study had consumed solid foods by the age of 4 months. This early introduction of complementary foods was associated with unhealthful subsequent feeding behaviors. Pediatrics 2008;122:S36-S42 T HE AMERICAN ACADEMY of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants be breastfed exclusively for the first several months of life and that breastfeeding should continue through the first year of life. The AAP Committee on Nutrition recommends that infants begin consuming foods in addition to breast milk or formula after 4 months of age, preferably at 6 months of age. 1,2 Early foods should include a source of iron, either fortified infant cereal or meat, but foods high in fat or sugar (eg, sugar-sweetened beverages, French fries, and candy) should not be given to infants. 3 Within these constraints, infants should be introduced to a variety of foods as they transition to table foods. 4 Little is known about current patterns of feeding among US infants during their first year of life. The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study, a cross-sectional study of US children aged 4 to 24 months conducted in 2002, documented infant and child food intake on the basis of one or two 24-hour recalls but did not collect detailed information on younger infants. 5 In the study described here, we attempted to fill this knowledge gap by assessing milk and formula consumption among a large sample of US infants, as well as changes in their d...

These data highlight the importance of considering anemia and high hemoglobin level as indicators for adverse pregnancy outcome. An elevated hemoglobin level (greater than 144 g/L) is an indicator for possible pregnancy complications associated with poor plasma volume expansion, and should not be mistaken for good iron status.

Two-thirds of mothers who intend to exclusively breastfeed are not meeting their intended duration. Increased Baby-Friendly hospital practices, particularly giving only breast milk in the hospital, may help more mothers achieve their exclusive breastfeeding intentions.

Reports of hypovitaminosis D among adults in the United States have drawn attention to the vitamin D status of children. National data on hypovitaminosis D among children are not yet available. Reports from 2000 and 2001 of rickets among children living in North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, and the mid-Atlantic region, however, confirmed the presence of vitamin D deficiency among some US children and prompted new clinical guidelines to prevent its occurrence. We reviewed reports of nutritional rickets among US children <18 y of age that were published between 1986 and 2003. We identified 166 cases of rickets in 22 published studies. Patients were 4-54 mo of age, although in 17 studies the maximal age was <30 mo. Approximately 83% of children with rickets were described as African American or black, and 96% were breast-fed. Among children who were breast-fed, only 5% of records indicated vitamin D supplementation during breast-feeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently recommended a minimal intake of 200 IU/d vitamin D for all infants, beginning in the first 2 mo of life. AAP recommends a vitamin D supplement for breast-fed infants who do not consume at least 500 mL of a vitamin D-fortified beverage. Given our finding of a disproportionate number of rickets cases among young, breast-fed, black children, we recommend that education regarding AAP guidelines emphasize the higher risk of rickets among these children. Education should also emphasize the importance of weaning children to a diet adequate in both vitamin D and calcium.