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Cited by 89Breastfeeding Practices and InfluencesChild Nutrition and Water AccessInfant Nutrition and Health

Mothers prolong breastfeeding of undernourished children in rural Senegal

Simondon, K.·1998·International Journal of Epidemiology
DOI 10.1093/ije/27.3.490
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding, when prolonged beyond infancy, is a risk factor for low nutritional status in most cross-sectional samples from less developed countries. Therefore, it has been suggested that prolonged breastfeeding impairs growth. To test whether, on the contrary, breastfeeding is prolonged because the child is already undernourished, nutritional status prior to weaning was compared according to age at weaning. METHODS: Precise dates of birth and weaning were collected weekly through continuous demographic surveillance in a rural area of Senegal. Weight and length at 9-10 months were measured during vaccination sessions (coverage: 78%) from 1989 to 1996. Eight infants weaned before 9 months were excluded, and the duration of breastfeeding of the remaining 4515 children was compared according to nutritional status at 9-10 months by survival analysis. RESULTS: Length-for-age during infancy was associated with duration of breastfeeding: the median duration was 25.0 months for z-scores <-2, 24.1 months for z-scores -2 to -1, 23.4 months for z-scores -1 to 0 and 22.7 months for z-scores >0 (P for trend <0.0001). Weight-for-length during infancy was also associated with duration of breastfeeding (P for trend <0.0001), though the differences among groups were smaller. The relationships remained at the same significance levels after adjustment for season of birth, mother's age, parity, height, occupation and education. CONCLUSION: Duration of breastfeeding is not determined by characteristics of the mothers only. Women prolong breastfeeding for undernourished children and reduce the duration for well-nourished children, probably because they are aware of the mortality risk following weaning.

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  • The subfertility of emerging adulthood can be explained by the period between the age at menarche (12.5 years) and the modeled optimal age at first birth (18 years).

    “The subfertility of emerging adulthood can be explained by the period between the age at menarche, which is 12.5 years, and the modeled optimal age at first birth of 18 years”

    From Emerging Adulthood, a Pre-adult Life-History Stage (2020) · cites this paper as [119]

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Authors
Simondon, K.
Affiliations
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
Corresponding author
Simondon, K.
ORCID
Simondon, K.
Venue
International Journal of Epidemiology
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
1998-06-01
Volume
27
Issue
3
Pages
490-494
ISSN
  • 0300-5771 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-3685
DOI
10.1093/ije/27.3.490
OpenAlex
W2105324813
Cited by
89
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
FWCI
3.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Breastfeeding Practices and Influences
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
Keywords
prolonged breastfeeding, weaning age, child undernutrition, infant nutritional status, length-for-age, weight-for-length, infant growth, maternal decision-making, rural Senegal
MeSH terms
Anthropometry, Breast Feeding, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Protein-Energy Malnutrition, Risk Factors, Rural Population, Senegal, Weaning, Causality

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