Preface

The growth and development of infants during the first two years of life are greatly influenced by nutrition. Meeting basic nutritional requirements is vital for proper and optimal growth and development, both physically and mentally. Infant feeding practice has greatly changed since the beginning of the last century. Many factors have influenced the rate of breastfeeding and the proper timing of complementary feed introduction. Poverty, world wars, the influx of women in the workforce, and the development of commercial infant formula are among these factors. Feeding during the first 1000 days of life is crucial for the growth and development of an individual and their long-term health outcomes. On many occasions, major nutritional problems such as obesity and undernutrition have been linked to nutrition during infancy. These problems not only affect the individual but also impact the future of developing countries. In four sections containing five chapters, this book discusses selected topics on infant feeding.

Chapter 1 by Jain et al. discusses the need for universal health care for all infants. The authors state that exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, then for two or more years with proper weaning, is desirable. As such, the authors propose the 'ABC mothers' plan.

In Chapter 2, Masereka et al. discuss infant and young child feeding in developing countries. Infant feeding challenges continue to manifest in developed and developing countries. Worldwide, more than 80% of babies are breastfed in the first few weeks of birth. However, about 37%, 25%, and less than 1% are exclusively breastfed at 6 months of age in Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom, respectively. These statistics are far below the World Health Organization targets of 50% by 2025 and 70% by 2030. Complementary feeding practices are varied as well due to non-adherence to infant and young child feeding guidelines among parents.

Chapter 3 by Manosalvas discusses the causes of policy failure to reduce chronic childhood undernutrition in Ecuador during a period of economic growth. The overall reduction of undernutrition from 1999 to the time of writing this chapter is 0.83 percent per year. Surprisingly, the period of highest GDP between 2006 and 2014, in which Ecuador exhibited economic growth of more than 4% of GDP per year on average, showed a lesser reduction in childhood malnutrition of only 0.2 percent per year. The author uses a mixed research strategy to explain this paradox.

Chapter 4 by Ka-Huen et al. discusses the issue of breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. As new mothers are understandably concerned about COVID-19 and its high rate of infection, they are often unsure if they should breastfeed their infants. In general, hospitals do not allow direct breastfeeding by mothers with an active infection of SARS-CoV-2. Some neonatal units in Hong Kong maintain safe practices by isolating infants and mothers for at least 7 to 14 days,

even if the infant remains SARS-CoV-2 negative. During isolation, mothers encourage the expression of milk to maintain milk duct patency and to prepare for lactation when they and their infants are discharged.

Finally, Chapter 5 by Volf et al. presents the authors' original research on fat component safety and pre-clinical evaluation of the physiological effect of infant-adapted dry milk mixtures. The fat component is one of the key components of an infant's diet. Its important aspects are biological effectiveness and safety changes during processing, storage, transportation, and subsequent storage after opening the package. Consumption of oxidized fats leads to pathological changes in the organism.

We would like to thank all the contributing authors for their excellent chapters and for their patience and cooperation. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude and sincere appreciation to the staff at IntechOpen, especially Author Service Manager Iva Ribic for her assistance throughout the publication process.

#### **Isam Jaber AL-Zwaini**

Professor, Department of Pediatrics, AL-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

#### **Haider Hadi AL-Musawi**

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, AL-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

## Section 1
