Nutritional Customs in Czech Children in the First Half-year of Life - Introduction of SupplementaryNutrition in Practice

Overview

The objective of the study was to describe the reality of the Czech infant nutrition during their first six monthsof life in a reflection of the WHO allowances. The retrospective study used the collection of data by the help of thestandardised questionnaire and interview with themother of infants. The research was performed in 1998-99 withinthe framework of „Themonitoring of infants' nutrition during the first six months of their life“, multi-centre studyof six medical faculties (grant PPZ MZČR 203/98-99). There were examined 1019 infants (respondency 95 %),aged completed sixmonths, from six regions of the Czech Republic from the randomly selected sample of newbornswithout inborn defects and birth weight above 2500 grams.Results: The average time of exclusively breastfeeding of infants was 3.9 months, during the sixth month of lifewere exclusively breastfed only 29%of infants. The study confirmed the premature introduction of complementaryfoods, which can participate in the restriction of the exclusively breastfeeding before completed 6month of infants'age. The infant's tea was introduced during the first month to 18 % of the sample, fruit juice during the second month of life to 1 % of infants. The other problems lay in the not recommended substitution of cottage cheeseinstead meat and introducing of cereals with gluten before completed 6 months of age.

Key words:
infants' nutrition, breastfeeding, introduction of complementary foods