Impact of Maternal Anthropometry and Infant Feeding on Growth Parameters of Infancy

Background: Maternal and child health is a pressing issue, especially in developing countries like Pakistan, where mothers' health and feeding methods directly influence infant health and future outcomes Objective: The study investigates the impact of maternal prenatal anthropometry and gestational weight gain on infant birth indices, and the associations of different feeding methods with infants’ anthropometric characteristics. Methods: The study was conducted at the gynaecology department of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission General Hospital, where expectant mothers were enrolled throughout 2022, and demographic, prenatal, and infant data were collected. Correlation and regression analyses assessed the influence of prenatal anthropometry and gestational weight gain on birth anthropometry. Infants were stratified into Breastfed, Mixed-fed, and Formula-fed groups for longitudinal growth analysis across four time points using ANOVA, multivariate linear regression and growth trajectories. Results: 366 mother-infant dyads were included in the analysis. Maternal pre-natal BMI, weight, height and gestational weight gain emerged as significant predictors of infant birth weight and length. Infants exclusively breastfed exhibited better growth indices and z-scores until six months than mixed or formula-fed. By the twelfth month, mixed feeding was associated with enhanced head circumference and HCZ scores. These growth findings were confounded by the birth weight of the infants and were higher for male infants than for female infants. Conclusion: Maternal prenatal anthropometrics (weight, height, BMI) and gestational weight gain significantly influenced infant birth size. Notably, exclusive breastfeeding was associated with enhanced growth outcomes until six months of age compared to mixed or formula-fed infants.