Infants and Nutrition - Essay Example

Infants and Nutrition Infants and Nutrition Key words: SIDS- sudden infant death syndrome, BLW- Baby-led weaning An infant is a very babyish offspring of an animal or a human being. When used for human, an infant is a young child aged between 1 month and 12 months (Lansley, 2012). A neonate or newborn infant is a young child under eight days of age. Infancy is an important growth period of a child. Adequate nutrition in infancy is important for lifelong wellbeing and health (Jones, 2013). An infant ought to be exclusively breastfed for its first months to attain optimal development, health, and growth. Inadequate nutrition in infancy can lead to stunt growth, delayed physical and cognitive development, low body weight, and even death (Langwith, 2012). Therefore, to meet evolving nutritional needs, an infant ought to obtain nutritionally safe and adequate complementary foods while breastfeeding for at least six month to two or more years. This paper describes three factors that can influence nutritional intake in infants and their impact on diet-related diseases in the United Kingdom. Nutritional Requirements of Infants Infants require protein, carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins. Breast milk and infant formulas contain enough amounts of needed nutrients for infants. However, breast milks have low iron and vitamin D (Meghea, 2013). The brain of an infant requires Omega-3 fatty acids to develop fully. The Institute of Medicine recommends consumption of 60 grams of carbohydrates, 31 grams of total fat, 500 milligrams of Omega-3s and 9.1 grams of protein each day of an infant up to six months old. According to IOM Infants between 7 and 12 months, old should consume at least 11 grams of protein, 95 grams of carbohydrates, 500 milligrams of omega-3s, and 30 grams of total fat each day (Ezzo and Bucknam, 2012). Birth to 6 months First foods Second food Transitional foods Breast milk or infant formula Iron-fortified infant rice cereal Vegetables Iron-fortified infant cereals Breast milk or infant formula Fruits Iron-rich strained meat Whole-milk baby yogurt Whole-milk baby yoghurt Breast milk or infant formulas Infant formulas or breast milk Soft finger foods Egg yolks Bananas Oat ring cereals Soft cheese Table 1: Showing nutrients requirements of an infant In the first six months since birth, an infant is fed breast milk or infant formulas. Infants ought to drink infant formula or breast drink every few hours or when they demand. An infant is ready to eat solid foods when about six months. The first solid food is iron-fortified infant rice or any recommended purees. Two tablespoons of rice cereals are offered an infant thrice or four times a day. Infant formulas and breast milks should also be fed to an infant. An infant between six and eight months is ready to start consuming strained vegetable and fruits. He/she is offered two to three tablespoons, four times a day. Whole-milk baby yoghurt should also be offered as it has high protein. Between 8 and 12 months, iron-rich strained meats are introduced in addition to earlier introduced food types. Eggs yolks, tofu, oat ring cereals, soft meat sticks, bananas, and soft cheese are introduced in this period. Nutrition for Breastfeeding Mothers Nutrition needs for breastfeeding mothers are similar to those of pregnant women (Silverstein, 2012). However, every breastfeeding requires 200 extra calories a day. A nursing woman requires protein, 1,300 milligrams of calcium a day and10 milligram of iron if 18 years and 9 milligrams of when above 19 years. She also requires 115 milligrams of vitamin C per day when 18 years and 120 milligrams when above 19. In addition, she requires multivitamins with recommended constituents and 8 cups of water per day (Pelto, 2013). Factors Influencing Nutritional Intake by Infants Breastfeeding Breastfeeding is the act of feeding a young child or an infant with breast milk straight from the breast of female human (Mohrbacher, 2013). Young children have sucking reflex, which permits them to suck and ingest milk (Genna, 2013). Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for first six months. Breast milk contains nutrients and vitamins that help an infant from lower respiratory illnesses, stomach viruses, meningitis, and ear infections. Mothers should have a healthy diet, which contain vitamins, iron, protein, mineral, calcium, and carbohydrates. Breast milk has disease-fighting substances, which protect an infant illness (Lim, 2008). It has secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), which protects against invading germs by creating a protecting layer on the mucous membrane in an infant’s nose, throat, and intestines. Furthermore, secretory IgA are created based on pathogens that the mother is exposed to and thus enabling an infant to be resistant to those pathogens (Kaetzel, 2007). Again, they have antibodies and enzymes that do not exist in infant formulas (Shaw, 2013). Mothers expose their infants to infectious morbidity like pneumonia, gastroenteritis, childhood obesity, leukemia, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and type 1 and two diabetes when they do breast them. They also expose them to high risks of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), diarrhea, and constipation. The number of women not breastfeeding is increasing in the United Kingdom. Department of Health (DoH) pointed out that 327, 048 women did not breastfeed beyond six or eight weeks in the period between 2012 and 2013. The reduced breastfeeding have caused problems associated with the lack of breastfeeding. Every year in United Kingdom there is hospitalization of about 3,285 infants with cases of gastrointestinal infection, and 5, 916 with lower respiratory tract infection. It also leads to 21, 045 acute otitis media, and 361 infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) yearly. Weaning Weaning is the process where a caregiver or a mother introduces adult diet to an infant while mother’s milk is being reduced (Lewis and Lewis, 2008). A caregiver or mother introduces new sources of nutrients other than the breast milk. An infant is regarded as fully weaned when it does not rely anymore on breast milk or bottled substitute. World Health Organization recommends the beginning of weaning to be in the sixth month. Weaning is done to help an infant develop the ability to survive alone without a mother (Britannica Educational Publishing, 2011). The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics proposes the use of iron-fortified infant rice cereals and mashed yam, potato, sweet potato, or cooked parsnip. Soft and small pieces of vegetable or soft fruits can also be introduced during weaning (Morrow and Chantry, 2013). Each item is introduced in a small amount. Each day, a caregiver or a mother offers two tablespoons of food to an infant thrice or four times a day. Food with nutrient required by an infant should be used. Therefore, mothers or caregivers should be considerate of the nutrient quality of food and the nutrient needs of an infant. From six months, a baby requires irons from food. Meat is a good source of iron. It should be well cooked for a child. Lack of iron can lead to the development of anemia among children (KARMEL, 2012). Other types of nutrients should also be considered to eliminate the possibility of exposing an infant to health issues associated with nutrient deficiency. Baby-led weaning (BLW) is a weaning process where an infant is left alone to feed (Julie ,2014). The baby is provided purées. Babies like copying their other siblings. They usually attempt to grab food from other people. They also love feeding themselves, as everyone seems to do. Baby-led weaning is thus easy to apply. However, this method exposes children to nutrients deficiencies. When given food to choose from, infants choose those they like. Their choices are not based on consumption necessity for particular foods. Children can thus take one particular food living the others and thus causing problems. For instance, infants can decide only to consume carbohydrate and leave out proteins, and other vitamin and mineral. Obesity was once a problem of adults in United Kingdom. Obese people could only be observed from people with advanced ages. However, small children are now among the obese people in the United Kingdom. In 2010, a health survey identified 30.3 percent of children between 2 and 15 years as obese. Even thought the range does not include infants, World Health Organization identified the possibility for an infant to gain high weight. Growth faltering is experienced among children not fed under World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2012). Infants who consume unbalanced diet tend to develop rapidly in weight leading to obesity. Caregivers or mothers should be concerned with infants’ nutrients needs and nutrient content. Careful consideration should be done before choosing food types for children using baby-led weaning (Conway, 2014), Social and Economic Status Economic and social status of caregivers and parents affects an infant’s health significantly. Mothers from low socioeconomic classes are not conscious of the importance of nutrient guidelines (Reibert and Jannings, 2012). In the United Kingdom, mothers from lower socioeconomic classes feed their infants French friends, candy, and ice cream, which are sugary and fatty. The household status and education influence the choice of food. The direct danger ensuing from poor infant diets is rapid weight growth and stunted development. Infants who consume high levels and fat experience larger weight gain. Some poor mothers have fed high sodium diet to their babies due to their inabilities to buy healthy meals. High salt diets increase risks of osteoporosis. It also causes loss of calcium through urine leading to bone demineralization, which increases chances for osteoporosis. Again, salt enhance blood pressure and stroke (Karmel, 2012). High salt diet in an infant’s food causes high blood pressures. It also leads to asthma by increasing bronchial reactivity. Every year in UK, many children develop asthmas. Fortunately, there are effective treatments. Unlike women, in low socioeconomic classes those in the upper classes can provide required food to their children hence protecting them from the above-mentioned diseases associated with poor nutrient levels. (Pollard, 2012). Conclusion Several factors influence nutrient intakes by infants. These factors are breastfeeding, weaning, and socioeconomic. Breastfeeding helps an infant acquire important nutrients and elements that help him/her face diseases. Failure to breastfeed a baby exposes him/her to diseases like pneumonia, gastroenteritis, childhood obesity, leukemia, SIDS, and type 1 and two diabetes. In a similar way, weaning helps an infant become strong as it gives him/her more sources of nutrients other than breast milk or infant formulas only. However, if not correctly done, it can cause health issues. For instance, weaning can lead an infant to consume unbalanced diet thus developing certain health issues associated to the lack of some nutrients. Women in low socioeconomic classes give their infant low-quality food thus exposing them to high pressure, asthma, and osteoporosis. Those in the upper classes follow infants’ nutrients guidelines. Work Cited Britannica Educational Publishing. (2011). Health and Disease in Society Battling and Managing Disease. Britannica Educational Pub. Conway, R. (2014). 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