Normal Growth and Development Rate
Among the most basic tenets of pediatric nutrition is the expectation that meeting an infant's nutrient requirements by either the exclusive feeding of human milk or by the feeding of any combination of other foods results in indistinguishable physiologic outcomes. However, this expectation has not been met.
Physiologic differences between breast and non-breastfed infants would not be surprising if these differences were limited to the functional outcomes associated with components unique to human milk. However, the nature of the developmental differences appears to be much broader. These range broadly from basic differences in growth patterns to more specific outcomes that are immunologic and possibly behavioral in character.
Furthermore, if the current international reference for infant growth is accepted as a standard, one could easily reach the erroneous conclusion that the growth and development of breast-fed babies is compromised after the second month. In fact, it is likely that the current reference standard does not describe normal growth adequately and possibly overestimates the variability of physiologic growth.
Excerpt from "The Growth and Development of Breastfed Infants"
Cutberto Garza, M.D., Ph.D.
Division of Nutritional Sciences Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
From Pediatric Basics, The Journal of Pediatric Nutrition and Development
Number 83/Spring 1998
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