Weak infant sucking in the first 8 weeks, reliance on breastfeeding for ⩾9 months, small feeds, and difficulties in weaning were associated with failure to thrive
Q Which postnatal factors are associated with failure to thrive (FTT)?
METHODS
Design:
a live birth cohort from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
Setting:
Bristol and surrounding areas, UK.
Patients:
11 900 (83%) of 14 062 infants from the original ALSPAC birth cohort who had a gestational age of 37–41 weeks. Infants with major congenital abnormalities that could affect feeding (eg, Down’s syndrome, cleft palate) and those with incomplete weight measurements were excluded.
Risk factors:
parent characteristics (social class; education; use of car; maternal ethnicity, height, age, parity, and smoking), infant characteristics at birth (sex, weight, centile, multiple birth, admission to neonatal intensive care, and breast feeding in the first 24 h); infant feeding and health at 4–8 weeks (breast feeding, feeding on …
