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
. 2021 Dec;119(6):e582-e588.
doi: 10.5546/aap.2021.eng.e582.

Nutritional risks among not exclusively breastfed infants in the first 6 months of life

[Article in English, Spanish]
Horacio F González  1 , Mabel Carosella  2 , Adriana Fernández  3
Affiliations
Free article

Nutritional risks among not exclusively breastfed infants in the first 6 months of life

[Article in English, Spanish]
Horacio F González et al. Arch Argent Pediatr. 2021 Dec.
Free article

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Breast milk is the ideal food for infants and its benefits can be observed in the short and long term. In crisis situations, breastfeeding should be promoted the most because it is one of the most cost-effective interventions aimed at reducing infant morbidity and mortality. In addition to the multiple advantages of breast milk in the mother-child bond and biological and immune properties, the most relevant characteristic of breast milk is that it covers all nutritional needs. When breastfeeding is not possible, the World Health Organization recommends infant formula as the first option. The second option is diluted cow's milk, which entails the risk for nutritional deficiency that should be strictly monitored and timely resolved. When infants are fed with diluted cow's milk, they are mainly at risk for iron, zinc, vitamin A, D, C, and E, amino acid and essential fatty acid deficiency.

La leche humana es el alimento ideal para los lactantes y sus beneficios se manifiestan en el corto y el largo plazo. En situaciones de crisis es cuando más se debe enfatizar en la lactancia materna, considerada una de las intervenciones más costo-efectivas para reducir la morbimortalidad infantil. Más allá de las múltiples ventajas que la leche humana tiene en relación con el vínculo madre-hijo y las capacidades biológicas e inmunológicas, lo más importante es que la leche materna cubre todas las necesidades nutricionales. Cuando la lactancia materna no es posible, la Organización Mundial de la Salud recomienda, como primera opción, las fórmulas infantiles. La segunda opción es leche de vaca (LV) diluida, que conlleva riesgos de deficiencias nutricionales en el lactante que deben ser monitoreadas en forme estrecha y oportunamente subsanadas. Los principales riesgos de deficiencias en el lactante que recibe LV diluida son las de hierro, cinc, vitaminas A, D, C y E, aminoácidos y ácidos grasos esenciales.

Keywords: breast milk substitutes, micronutrients/deficiency; breastfeeding; infant nutritional physiological phenomena; macronutrients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The manuscript was written with the help of all authors in an autonomous manner; the company did not interfere with the editorial management or the final article. The authors state that their only relationship with Mead Johnson Nutrition was their participation in conferences and symposiums organized by the company, as in others carried out by other companies.

References

    1. Swinburn BA, Kraak VI, Allender A, Atkins VJ, et al. The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report. Lancet. 2019; 393(10173):791-846.
    1. Jones G, Steketee RW, Black RE, Bhutta ZA, et al. How many child deaths can we prevent this year? Lancet. 2003; 362(9377):65-71.
    1. Victora CG, Bahl R, Barros AJD, França GVA, et al. Breastfeeding in the 21st century: Epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. Lancet. 2016; 387(10017):475-90.
    1. Ley 26.873. Lactancia Materna. Promoción y Concientización Pública. Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 de agosto de 2013. [Accessed on: June 1st, 2021]. Available at: http://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/215000-219999/218...
    1. Argentina. Ministerio de Salud y Desarrollo Social. 2º Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición y Salud. ENNyS 2: Indicadores seleccionados de salud y nutrición población materno-infantil. 2019. [Accessed on: June 1st, 2021]. Available at: https://bancos.salud.gob.ar/recurso/2degencuesta-nacional-de-nutricion-y...