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Water supplementation of infants in the first month of life
P D Scariati1, L M Grummer-Strawn, S B Fein
1Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., USA.
Objective:
To describe the prevalence of and risk factors associated with regular water supplementation of neonates.
Design:
Evaluation of data from the Food and Drug Administration's Infant Feeding Practices Study, a panel study of US women of fairly high socioeconomic status who were followed up from late pregnancy through their infants' first year of life. The sample was drawn from a nationally distributed consumer mail panel. Each mother was asked whether she gave her neonate water at least 3 times per week.
Participants:
A total of 1677 mothers of infants who were neonates in April through November 1993.
Main Outcome Measures:
Percentages of mothers who gave their neonates water at least 3 times a week, considering infant feeding status, mother's education, and family income.
Results:
About one fourth (24.7%) of the mothers reported giving their neonates water at least 3 times per week. Stratification by feeding practices and socioeconomic factors revealed that 41.6% of mothers who formula-fed their neonates, 47.4% of mothers with less than a high school education, and 35.4% of mothers with an annual family income less than $22,500 gave their neonates water at least 3 times per week.
Conclusions:
Water supplementation of neonates was a prevalent practice in this cohort of women. Feeding practices, maternal education, and family income were all significant risk factors associated with this behavior.