Infant Nutrition Health Article

Definition

Infant nutrition is the feeding behavior of an infant during the first year after birth.

Purpose

Due to the tremendous amount of growth during infancy, adequate nutrition after birth is essential for the development and nourishment of children. Proper nutrition can be obtained from the use of breast milk, infant formulas, and adequate diet related to age.

Precautions

When assessing the nutritional status of infants, it is important to consider the differences in the bodily functions of infants. The gastrointestinal functions of newborns are much slower than that of older infants, especially gastric emptying, which may account for the regurgitation, or spitting up, in newborns.

Passage through the small intestine is slower for infants, which helps ensure proper absorption and digestion of nutrients. However, the large intestine has a much faster transit time, which puts infants at an increased risk of dehydration if resorption of water and electrolytes is compromised.

The digestion of fat is also limited in infancy due to the decreased amount of pancreatic lipase, an enzyme secreted by the pancreas to digest fat. However, other lipases present in breast milk compensate for the lack of this enzyme and aid in fat digestion. Thus, the fat in human milk is more readily absorbed than the fat in prepared formulas.

Renal function is also limited in newborns because their kidneys are not fully developed until one month of age. The immature kidneys and other factors limit the newborns'ability to cope with fluid and electrolyte loads. Infants fed breast milk or properly prepared formulas normally do not have problems with renal solute load, although problems may occur with fever, diarrhea, or a reduction in the volume of fluids consumed.

Infants who sleep through the night may need to be woken up mid-way through the night to feed if they are underweight or not consuming enough. It is important to have routine check-ups with the doctor or dietitian to ensure that infants are eating adequately. Honey should also not be given to infants because it may contain spores that cause botulism.