Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jun;41(3):743-52.
doi: 10.1093/ije/dys002. Epub 2012 Feb 21.

Seasonality of infant feeding practices in three Brazilian birth cohorts

David A González-Chica  1 , Helen Gonçalves, Aydin Nazmi, Iná S Santos, Aluísio J D Barros, Alicia Matijasevich, Cesar G Victora
Affiliations

Seasonality of infant feeding practices in three Brazilian birth cohorts

David A González-Chica et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Background: We assessed the influence of season of birth on duration of breastfeeding and other feeding patterns in three population-based birth cohort studies in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil.

Methods: In 1982, 1993 and 2004, all hospital-born children in the city were enrolled in three cohort studies (n = 5914, 5249 and 4287, respectively). Children and their mothers were periodically visited in the first 2 years of life, to collect information on the duration of breastfeeding and the ages at which different types of foods were introduced on a regular basis. Two independent variables were studied: month of birth and mean environmental temperature in the first month of life. Survival analyses and chi-squared tests were used to evaluate the associations. Temperature-based slope indices of inequality were also calculated.

Results: Duration of breastfeeding was lower among children born from April to June (months preceding winter) and spending their first month of life in colder temperatures. The influence of season of birth on breastfeeding patterns and the introduction of cow's milk differed according to maternal education, with the strongest effects among children belonging to less educated mothers. Early introduction of fruits (1982 and 1993 cohorts) and vegetables (1982 cohort) were also associated with lower environmental temperature in the first month of life, but not with trimester of birth.

Conclusion: Colder temperatures adversely affect duration of breastfeeding and feeding patterns in infancy, especially among the poorest. This finding should be considered in breastfeeding promotion programmes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Duration of any breastfeeding according to mean environmental temperature in the first month of life. Stratified by maternal education. Pelotas birth cohort studies
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of early introduction of formula (≤ 1 month), fruits (≤ 3 months) and vegetables/legumes (≤ 3 months) according to season of birth. Pelotas birth cohort studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gartner LM, Morton J, Lawrence RA, et al. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics. 2005;115:496–506. - PubMed
    1. Kramer MS, Kakuma R. The Optimal Duration of Exclusive Breastfeeding: a Systematic Review. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2001.
    1. Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database. Syst Rev. 2002:CD003517. - PubMed
    1. Lamberti LM, Fischer Walker CL, Noiman A, Victora C, Black RE. Breastfeeding and the risk for diarrhea morbidity and mortality. BMC Public Health. 2011;11(Suppl. 3):S15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fall CH, Borja JB, Osmond C, et al. Infant-feeding patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in young adulthood: data from five cohorts in low- and middle-income countries. Int J Epidemiol. 2011;40:47–62. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types