Gestation and lactation performance in relation to the plane of maternal nutrition
Rajalakshmi, R.
Maternal Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation: 184-202
1980
Document Number: 637008
Gestation and lactation performance of poor and upper class women in urban and rural Baroda were compared. Although overall reproductive performance was comparable in the 2 groups (n = 828 and 81), they differed with regard to birth wt. (2.6 and 2.7 kg), still births (7 and 3%) and abortions (7 and 3%). Poorer class women also showed a higher prevalence of anaemia and low placental wt. All poor women were able to breast feed their babies satisfactorily for more than or equal to 6 months whereas only about 10% could do so in the upper class. In smaller samples of 42 and 16 women milk secretion was about 700 and 370 ml in poor and upper class women, resp. Infant wt. at 6 months in the 2 groups were comparable (6.6 and 6.8 kg) but an appreciable number in the poorer group (14%) failed to reach a body wt. of 6 kg at 6 months. The lactation performance of poor women poses major problems with regard to energy metabolism and ascorbic acid secretion.