Weaning is the gradual withdrawal of a baby from breast milk diet to semi solid or solid food by the process of introduction of artificial food.
Factors That Affect Weaning
- Knowledge of the mother about weaning.
- Cultural factors.
- Socioeconomic status of the mother.
- Baby’s preference (refusal or acceptance of breast by baby)
- Health status of either mother or baby.
- Nature of mother’s occupation.
Steps To Follow in Weaning a Baby
- Weaning should start from four to six months depending on the condition and activity of the mother i.e after exclusive breast feeding.
- First introduce warm clear water with normal breastfeeding and observe for reaction.
- Start weaning by withdrawing breast milk and introducing a semi-solid food gradually.
- Introduce a new diet or a system of diet to the baby every two days.
- Observe the baby for any reaction.
- You should not be in a hurry while feeding the baby.
- At the initial time, the baby should continue to feed on breast milk for up to two or three times daily with the introduced semi-solid food.
- Graduate to semi solid food and solid food alone, with breast milk at least once daily until one to one and half years.
- Give nourishing diet and avoid giving snacks especially before meals because baby’s stomach is small and may therefore reject nourishing diets during feeding.
- Don’t heap the plate full of food but put small at a time.
- Avoid high spicy food but should be more of balanced diets like fortified pap.
- Serve an old favorable food before introducing a new food.
What is Over Nutrition in Infant
Over nutrition is a state of nutrition in which one or more of the component of a healthy diet are consumed to excess such that adverse medical effects of that excessive intake are apparent and measurable.
Effect of Over Nutrition in Infants
1. Obesity
This is a pathological condition characterized by an accumulation of fat much more than necessary in the body. The cause of infant obesity could be genetic, hormonal, eating too much without activity, especially over consumption of carbohydrates food.
Infant obesity is associated with a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, sleeping disorder, early puberty, diabetes, tuberculosis, cardiovascular irregularities, arthritis and respiratory problems. It is also associated with skin disorder such as body itching, rashes and inflammation of the skin caused by excessive perspiration secondary to restriction of normal heat loss by skin.
2. Hyper vitaminosis A
Excessive amount if vitamin A administered to children from infancy can result in many complications such as; dry itchy skin, hyper irritability, painful swelling of the extremities accompanied with limping, refusal to stand, thickening of long bones and associated enlargement of spleens.
3. Hyper Vitaminosis D
Excessive amount of vitamin D are potentially dangerous to children and adults. The symptoms include; nausea , vomiting, fatigue, drowsiness, headache, constipation, occasional bouts of fever, hypertension and renal damage, increase serum calcium and phosphorus, calcium deposition in large blood vessels, high concentration of calcium in spine, facial paralysis and anemia
4. Over Load of Iron
Excessive intake of iron leads to condition called haemorsiderinosis or haemochromatosis (large deposit of iron inn the liver). This causes constipation, diarrhea, heart burn, nausea, epigastric pain, dizziness and vomiting. It could also involve organ damage, insufficient calcium and magnesium in the body and increased susceptibility to infectious disease.
5. Excessive phosphorus
This can interfere with the body’s absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc.
6. Excessive Potassium
This may lead to hypernatremia, dehydration especially in babies and possible long term effects may include hypertension.
7. Excessive Sodium
This may lead to hypernatremia, dehydration especially in babies and possible long term effect and include hypertension
8. Excessive Manganese
It is associated with brain condition such as symptoms similar to these resulting from parkinson’s disease.
9. Excessive Selenium
This can lead to selenium poisoning.
10. Excessive Zinc
This can reduce the absorption of copper.
What is Under nutrition in Infants
Under nutrition also known as malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or inadequate diet or nutrition.
Effects of Under Nutrition in Infants
- If mother suffered from under nutrition during pregnancy, the baby can suffer from reduced intellectual capacity and cognitive function.
- Chronic malnutrition can impair metal development directly (brain development negatively affected) and indirectly (less active, therefore brain stimulated less)
- Under nutrition increase the risk of infection and infectious disease like tuberculosis. It does this by weakening every part of the immune system.
- Avitaminosis; vitamin deficiencies are associated with some disease like scurvy and rickets. They have the following signs and symptoms; dry eyes, pale conjunctiva, biot’s spot, periorbital edema, angular stomatitis, cheilitis, glossitis, spongy bleeding gum, parotid enlargement.
- Enamel mottling and of protein malnutrition occurring in children in underprivileged population. Here fatty infiltration of liver arises and may cause cirrhosis. The baby has a moon face appearance.
- Marasmus; a severe chronic malnutrition producing a gradual wasting of the tissue, owing to insufficient or unassimilated food, occurring especially in infants. This is a hungry child.
- Infant mortality; according to world health organization, under nutrition is by far the biggest contributor to infant mortality and six million children die of hunger every year. WHO estimates that under nutrition accounts for 54% of child mortality worldwide.
- Psychological effect; iron deficiency anemia in children under two years of age likely affects brain function acutely and probably also chronically.
- Folate deficiency has been linked to neutral tube defects.
- Protein deficiency malnutrition can cause cognitive impairment.
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