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The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices

The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study 2021 (OzFITS 2021) is a nationwide survey of Australian caregivers’ infant and toddler feeding practices. Here, we describe breastfeeding rates and duration, use of breastmilk substitutes, and introduction of complementary (solid) foods, including com...

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Autores principales: Netting, Merryn J., Moumin, Najma A., Knight, Emma J., Golley, Rebecca K., Makrides, Maria, Green, Tim J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8747366/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35011081
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu14010206
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author Netting, Merryn J.
Moumin, Najma A.
Knight, Emma J.
Golley, Rebecca K.
Makrides, Maria
Green, Tim J.
author_facet Netting, Merryn J.
Moumin, Najma A.
Knight, Emma J.
Golley, Rebecca K.
Makrides, Maria
Green, Tim J.
author_sort Netting, Merryn J.
collection PubMed
description The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study 2021 (OzFITS 2021) is a nationwide survey of Australian caregivers’ infant and toddler feeding practices. Here, we describe breastfeeding rates and duration, use of breastmilk substitutes, and introduction of complementary (solid) foods, including common food allergens. Caregivers (n = 1140) were recruited by a digital marketing company and were interviewed using a structured telephone questionnaire to obtain information. Breastfeeding was initiated in 98% of infants, but the duration of exclusive breastfeeding to six months was less than 1%. Nearly 40% of children continued to receive breastmilk beyond one year, with 10% of toddlers receiving breastmilk at two years. One-quarter of infants were introduced to solid foods between 4 to 5 months, and nearly all infants had received solid foods by 7 months. New guidelines encourage the early introduction of potential food allergens to reduce the risk of allergy, and by 12 months, over 90% of children had been given eggs and peanuts. One-third of children received no breastmilk substitutes during their first year. One-third of infants first received breastmilk substitutes following birth and before discharge from the hospital. Of these infants, 30% ceased breastmilk substitute use after discharge. Our findings suggest a high rate of continued breastfeeding with 44% receiving breastmilk beyond 1 year. One approach to increase the duration of exclusive breastfeeding is to reduce breastmilk substitute use while in hospital.
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spelling pubmed-87473662022-01-11 The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices Netting, Merryn J. Moumin, Najma A. Knight, Emma J. Golley, Rebecca K. Makrides, Maria Green, Tim J. Nutrients Article The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study 2021 (OzFITS 2021) is a nationwide survey of Australian caregivers’ infant and toddler feeding practices. Here, we describe breastfeeding rates and duration, use of breastmilk substitutes, and introduction of complementary (solid) foods, including common food allergens. Caregivers (n = 1140) were recruited by a digital marketing company and were interviewed using a structured telephone questionnaire to obtain information. Breastfeeding was initiated in 98% of infants, but the duration of exclusive breastfeeding to six months was less than 1%. Nearly 40% of children continued to receive breastmilk beyond one year, with 10% of toddlers receiving breastmilk at two years. One-quarter of infants were introduced to solid foods between 4 to 5 months, and nearly all infants had received solid foods by 7 months. New guidelines encourage the early introduction of potential food allergens to reduce the risk of allergy, and by 12 months, over 90% of children had been given eggs and peanuts. One-third of children received no breastmilk substitutes during their first year. One-third of infants first received breastmilk substitutes following birth and before discharge from the hospital. Of these infants, 30% ceased breastmilk substitute use after discharge. Our findings suggest a high rate of continued breastfeeding with 44% receiving breastmilk beyond 1 year. One approach to increase the duration of exclusive breastfeeding is to reduce breastmilk substitute use while in hospital. MDPI 2022-01-03 /pmc/articles/PMC8747366/ /pubmed/35011081 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu14010206 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Netting, Merryn J.
Moumin, Najma A.
Knight, Emma J.
Golley, Rebecca K.
Makrides, Maria
Green, Tim J.
The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices
title The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices
title_full The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices
title_fullStr The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices
title_full_unstemmed The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices
title_short The Australian Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (OzFITS 2021): Breastfeeding and Early Feeding Practices
title_sort australian feeding infants and toddler study (ozfits 2021): breastfeeding and early feeding practices
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8747366/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35011081
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu14010206
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