Growth of exclusively breastfed infants.

The weights and lengths of 120 boys and 81 girls were followed from birth to 12 months at Shree Maharani Shantadevi Hospital (SMSH), Baroda. The sample was selected by the following criteria: (i) birth weight 2.5 kg or more, (ii) no serious defect or serious/chronic illness, (iii) upper and middle socio-economic level, (iv) normal motor-mental development, (v) regular follow-up every month (by appointment within two days of birth date) for at least nine months, (vi) exclusive breastfeeding for at least four months. Mean and SDs and percentile values of weight, length and weight for length were computed separately for boys and girls. These were compared with those of National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) and of the Davis Area Research on Lactation, Infant Nutrition and Growth (DAR-LING) study in the USA. The breastfed babies were observed to be leaner by the currently accepted "standards" which have been established mostly on formula-fed babies. The growth pattern of the breastfed babies cannot be interpreted as 'faltering' since their motor-mental development was normal and they were thriving well. The study focuses attention on the need to have new growth charts on the basis of exclusively breastfed children.