[Infant nutrition in Switzerland 1978. A prospective study on the nutritional habits during the first 6 months of life. I. Natural nutrition: breast feeding].

With the help of 55 nurses counseling young mothers in northern, central and eastern Switzerland the feeding habits of 371 infants born in March and April 1978 were studied during the first 6 months of life. Infants who were still breastfed at the end of the observation period were monitored for another 6 months. 92% of all infants were breastfed during the puerperium (62% receiving exclusively mother's milk). At the end of the second month some 60% of the infants were breast-fed (40% exclusively). At the end of the fourth month the numbers were 30% (15%) and after 6 months 18% (2%). The "mean corrected nursing period" was 10.25 weeks. The length of this period showed a direct correlation with the socioeconomic class of the family and especially with the educational status of the mother. A small difference in duration of the nursing period between male and female infants was not statistically significant, although during childbed there was a significant difference in favour of boys. There appeared to be a relationship between duration of nursing and age, parity and bodyweight of the mother. There were marked differences in frequency and duration of breast-feeding according to whether rooming-in was practiced during childbed or not. At the end of the first half year of life babies with a long nursing period had a significantly lower body weight than those with partial or no breastfeeding. A much smaller difference in body length resulted in a lower and probably more favourable weight/length ratio. There was no difference in head circumference. As compared with other industralized European countries, the authors regard current nursing habits in Switzerland as satisfactory.