TY - JOUR

T1 - Breastfeeding, pregnant, and non-breastfeeding nor pregnant women's food consumption

T2 - a matched within-household analysis in India

AU - Fledderjohann, Jasmine

AU - Vellakkal, Sukumar

AU - Stuckler, David

N1 - Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PY - 2016/3

Y1 - 2016/3

N2 - OBJECTIVE: Promoting breastfeeding is major maternal and child health goal in India. It is unclear whether mothers receive additional food needed to support healthy breastfeeding.METHODS: Using the latest National Family and Health Survey (2005-2006), we applied multilevel linear regression models to document correlates of nutrition for (n = 20,764) breastfeeding women. We then compared consumption of pulses, eggs, meat, fish, dairy, fruit, and vegetables across a sample of breastfeeding, non-breastfeeding/pregnant (NBP), and pregnant women (n = 3,409) matched within households and five-year age bands. We tested whether breastfeeding women had greater advantages in the 18 high-focus states of India's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).RESULTS: Vegetarianism, caste, and religion were the strongest predictors of breastfeeding women's nutrition. Breastfeeding women had no nutritional advantage compared to NBP women, and were disadvantaged in their consumption of milk (b = -0.14) in low-focus states. Pregnant women were similarly disadvantaged in their consumption of milk in low-focus states (b = -0.32), but consumed vegetables more frequently (b = 0.12) than NBP women in high-focus states.CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding women do not receive nutritional advantages compared to NBP women. Targeted effort is needed to assess and improve nutritional adequacy for breastfeeding Indian women.

AB - OBJECTIVE: Promoting breastfeeding is major maternal and child health goal in India. It is unclear whether mothers receive additional food needed to support healthy breastfeeding.METHODS: Using the latest National Family and Health Survey (2005-2006), we applied multilevel linear regression models to document correlates of nutrition for (n = 20,764) breastfeeding women. We then compared consumption of pulses, eggs, meat, fish, dairy, fruit, and vegetables across a sample of breastfeeding, non-breastfeeding/pregnant (NBP), and pregnant women (n = 3,409) matched within households and five-year age bands. We tested whether breastfeeding women had greater advantages in the 18 high-focus states of India's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).RESULTS: Vegetarianism, caste, and religion were the strongest predictors of breastfeeding women's nutrition. Breastfeeding women had no nutritional advantage compared to NBP women, and were disadvantaged in their consumption of milk (b = -0.14) in low-focus states. Pregnant women were similarly disadvantaged in their consumption of milk in low-focus states (b = -0.32), but consumed vegetables more frequently (b = 0.12) than NBP women in high-focus states.CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding women do not receive nutritional advantages compared to NBP women. Targeted effort is needed to assess and improve nutritional adequacy for breastfeeding Indian women.

KW - Animals

KW - Breast Feeding

KW - Diet

KW - Diet, Vegetarian

KW - Family Characteristics

KW - Female

KW - Food Habits

KW - Health Services

KW - Health Surveys

KW - Humans

KW - Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena

KW - Pregnancy

KW - Religion

KW - Rural Population

KW - Social Class

KW - Journal Article

KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

U2 - 10.1016/j.srhc.2015.11.007

DO - 10.1016/j.srhc.2015.11.007

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26826049

VL - 7

SP - 70

EP - 77

JO - Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare : Official Journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives

JF - Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare : Official Journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives

SN - 1877-5756

ER -