Breastfeeding Rates and Growth Charts—the Zhejiang Infant Feeding Trial
by
Bingquan Zhu 1,†, 
Jian Zhang 1,†,
Liqian Qiu 2,†,
Colin Binns 3,*
,
Jie Shao 1,†,
Yun Zhao 3,† and
Zhengyan Zhao 1,*
Jian Zhang 1,†,
Liqian Qiu 2,†,
Colin Binns 3,*,
Jie Shao 1,†,
Yun Zhao 3,† and
Zhengyan Zhao 1,*
1
Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310006 China
2
Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310006, China
3
School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth 6102, Australia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(7), 7337-7347; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120707337
Received: 28 March 2015 / Revised: 4 June 2015 / Accepted: 23 June 2015 / Published: 30 June 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breastfeeding and Infant Health)
A randomised control trial was undertaken in Hangzhou, China, to study the influence of the growth chart used on breastfeeding rates. Mothers with infants who were being fully breastfed at 6 weeks after birth (n = 1602) were invited to participate in the trial; 1415 agreed to participate and 1295 completed the study. Two growth charts were used, one that was heavier for the first six months of life (Chart A, n = 686) and a lighter growth chart (Chart B, n = 609). Mothers were interviewed and infants measured at 6 weeks and 3, 4, 5 and 6 months after delivery. At 6 months the full breastfeeding rates were 18.1% in the group using the heavier growth chart compared to 22.8% in the lighter growth chart group. After adjusting for potential confounders this difference remained significant (aOR 1.41, 95% confidence intervals 1.02, 1.93). These results suggest that breastfeeding rates may be influenced by the type of growth chart used. Mothers who perceive that their infants are not growing adequately (i.e., using the heavier charts) may introduce other foods to their infants earlier than mothers using the lighter chart. While a larger trial is required to confirm the results, in the interim it is suggested that if heavier growth charts are used, a lower percentile line could be used to assess adequacy of growth.
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Keywords:
growth chart; mother’s perceptions; percentiles; breastfeeding rates; China
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Zhu, B.; Zhang, J.; Qiu, L.; Binns, C.; Shao, J.; Zhao, Y.; Zhao, Z. Breastfeeding Rates and Growth Charts—the Zhejiang Infant Feeding Trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 7337-7347.
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