Influence of Mothers’ Smoking on Nutrition of Children during First SixWeeks after Birth

Overview

Breast feeding is the most advantageous form of nutrition of the child after the birth:
it has not only suitablenutritional structure but it also contains a number of factors which support immunity and growth of newbornsand sucklings. One of the primary aim of WHO is the support of exclusive breast feeding minimally during thefirst six months of infant’s life.The smoking behaviour in pregnancy and after the birth, as well as physiologic stimulation of breast feedingand nutrition of infants in six weeks after the birth were observed within the ELSPAC study in cohort of 4883women from Brno and Znojmo district, who were pregnant on 1990 -1992.The results show that in the beginning of 90ies, the physiologic principles of breast feeding stimulation wereneglected: in the desirable term, i.e. till one hour after the birth, less than 7 % of children were set to breast, onlyless than 60 % of newborns were exclusively breast fed in the first 24 hours after the birth and other 16 % werebreast fed partly.More than one fifth of the children were given the artificial nutrition in the first day of their life. Children ofsmoking and non smokingmothers did not differ in given nutrition during the first hours of their life, women whodelivered for several times, however, breast fed their newborns significantly more often. The smoking behaviourof mothers showed in different attitude towards the breast feeding in the further time period: in the group of nonsmoking women, the number of exclusively breast feeding women grew till the second week after the birth to 72 %.During the confinement, 54.5%ofmothers were breast feeding exclusively, other 23%partly.On the contrary,in the group of smoking mothers, the share of exclusively breast feeding mothers constantly decreased from 60%in the first 24 hours, while the number of artificially fed children grew progressive. At the end of confinement,almost 50 % of children of smoking mothers were fed solely by artificial nutrition and only 25 % of them werebreast fed exclusively. Shortly after wards the number of artificially fed sucklings in this group reached 70 %. The children who were fed exclusively or partly by artificial nutrition suffered more often from feeding troubles.Frequency of various alimentary and respiratory problems or diseases were significantly higher in the childrenof smoking mothers, breast feeding reduced the frequency of symptoms.During the last years, the programmes supporting the breast feeding are taking place in the Czech Republic.These programmes not only motivate themothers but also show them practically this physiologic kind of nutritionand provide the training.

Key words:
smoking, breast-feeding, breast-feeding support, morbidity in confinement