Impact of nutritional interventions among lactating mothers on the growth of their infants in the first 6 months of life: a randomized controlled trial in Delhi, India

BACKGROUND: In lower-middle-income settings, growth faltering in the first 6 mo of life occurs despite exclusive breastfeeding. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to test the efficacy of an approach to improve the dietary adequacy of mothers during lactation and thus improve the growth of their infants. METHODS: Eligible mother–infant dyads (infants ≤7 d of age) were randomly assigned to either intervention or control groups. Mothers in the intervention group received snacks that were to be consumed daily, which provided 600 kcal of energy—with 25–30% of energy derived from fats (150–180 kcal) and 13% of energy from protein (80 kcal). Micronutrients were supplemented as daily tablets. We provided counseling on breastfeeding and infant-care practices to mothers in both groups. The primary outcome was attained infant length-for-age z scores (LAZ) at 6 mo of age. Secondary outcomes included exclusive breastfeeding proportion reported by the mother, maternal BMI and midupper arm circumference (MUAC), hemoglobin concentrations in mothers and infants, and the proportion of anemic infants at 6 mo of age. RESULTS: We enrolled 816 mother–infant dyads. The intervention did not achieve a significant effect on LAZ at 6 mo (adjusted mean difference: 0.09; 95% CI: −0.03, 0.20). Exclusive breastfeeding at 5 mo was higher (45.1% vs. 34.5%; RR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.64) in the intervention group compared with the controls. There were no significant effects on mean hemoglobin concentration or the proportion of anemic infants at 6 mo of age compared with the control group. We noted significant effects on maternal nutritional status (BMI, MUAC, hemoglobin concentration, and proportion anemic). CONCLUSIONS: Postnatal supplementation of 600 kcal energy, 20 g protein, and multiple micronutrients daily to lactating mothers did not affect infant LAZ at age 6 mo. Such supplementation may improve maternal nutritional status. This trial was registered at Clinical Trials Registry–India as CTRI/2018/04/013095.