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Home > First Year > Nutritional Stages as the baby Develops
 Nutritional stages as the baby develops
The newborn baby depends on the mother for his / her nutrition to help in its growth and development. This may take the form of either breast feeding or formula feeding.
Advantages of breast feeding :
(1) economic and free,
(2) easy to deliver (once established),
(3) avoidance of sterilization of bottles,
(4) bonding between infant and mother,
(5) breast milk is an excellent nutrient mixture whose protein content is less likely to induce allergic reactions and is extremely important in offering protection against infection. This is due to the presence of prebiotics in breast milk which stimulate the build up of probiotics in the infant’s digestive system.
Probiotics are dietary supplements of live bacteria found in breast milk and passed on from the mother, that when taken up by the infant’s digestive system, are thought to be healthy for the host organism and beneficial to health. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: ‘live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’, ie : they work towards a healthy digestive system, less incidence of nappy rashes, and better absorption of vitamins, but most of all, probiotics promote a healthier immune system of the body.
On the other hand, prebiotics (also found in breast milk) selectively stimulate the growth or activity of one or a limited number of potentially beneficial bacteria, (= probiotics) particularly bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, while decreasing the number of facultative anaerobic strains such as Escherichia coli and Clostridia.
It is the phenomenon of this beneficial role of the pre - and pro – biotics in human breast milk that has brought a universal revolution in the production of formula milks whereby the international milk companies have been working on the addition of these important elements of breast milk to the formula milks to mimic the advantages of breast milk as much as possible.
6 months + :
Until the infants are 6 months old, breast milk or formula milk contain everything they need; then they are ready to start on solids.
The baby’s brain is developing fast and one nutrient that is particularly important for this period of growth is Iron. Iron helps the baby grow and develop, and a lack of it may affect his learning later in life. (iron is important for brain development).
Babies are born with a store of iron, but by the time that he reaches 6 months, the store runs out and iron will have to be provided by foods in the diet (red meat – liver and lean beef, lentils, dried fruit and iron – fortified cereals and formula milk.
On the other hand, foods containing vitamin C (citrus fruit / green vegetables – broccoli, cabbage, peas and potatoes) helps increase the absorption of iron.
(NB : cow’s milk contains very little iron and vitamins C and D and may also bleeding of the digestive system in some sensitive babies).
8 months
: crawling and increased activity : increase in activity burns up a lot of energy so this means that infants require plenty of calories in the diet to replenish his stores of energy in the diet. Good sources of energy include bread, rice, potatoes and cereals.
9 months :
Increased activity and exploring his / her surroundings imply that any new objects go straight to the baby’s mouth, so that at this stage of development one has to build up the infant’s natural immunity with varied diet. Antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E.
Vitamin A (liver, spinach, carrots): helps maintain a strong immune system and is important for eye development.
Vitamin D (oily fish) : important for muscle and bone development.
Vitamin B : vegetables, peas, beans, cereals, meat, green vegetables, fish and poultry.
10 months :
Teething – 6 – 12 months. Calcium is required to make sure that the teeth grow strong and healthy. Calcium is found in both formula and breast milk, cheese and yoghurts).
Although sugar provides energy for the growing toddler, one should avoid extra amounts of sugars in sweets, biscuits, as these provide empty calories with no other nutrients
10 – 12 months :
The toddler might be strong enough to pull himself up on to furniture, or even start to walk around. This means that baby’s muscles and bones are growing rapidly so that minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc help the infant grow to his optimum height and weight.
12 – 15 months :
Development of speech – dada and mama – appear around 1st birthday.
The very rapid brain development at this time, will need a good source of iron in the infant’s diet.
Also important for the child’s brain development, besides iron, are the essential fatty acids that are needed to be provided by the diet, as the body cannot make them itself. These fats are essential for growth and development and they are used in the body to make long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCP’s). Foods containing essential fatty acids include oily fish, vegetable oils, breast milk and follow – on milks).
15 – 18 months :
Walking. Calcium and vitamin D are essential to build strong healthy bones. Dairy products such as yoghurt and cheese are rich in calcium, while canned fish (salmon, tuna) and eggs are good sources of vitamin D. Due to the rapid growth of bones at this age, children under 3 are vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency.
18 – 24 months :
a period of rapid growth and achievement of more independence.
Established on family foods plus a formula milk drink as a supplement nutritional source.
Article thanks to Dr. Chris Sciberras
MD, MRCPCH, MRCP(UK), MSc.Comm.Paed.(warwick), DCH (Dublin), Cert.Dev.Paeds(London)
Dr. Sciberras can be found at 21, G.B.Pantalleresco Str. B'Kara and contacted on (00356) 99476462
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