[The feeding of young children with mild diarrhea. Study of the behavior of 20 mothers in a periurban area of Guatemala City].
To asses mothers' behavior in regard to their children's feeding when they were ill with diarrhea, 20 guatemalan periurban families with children under four years of age were observed throughout one day. The observations were repeated during children's recovery. Mothers did not deprive their children of either liquid or solid foods during the diarrheal process. The average amount of liquids children drank when ill did not differ from that drank during recovery. Most of the children's diets did not meet their requirements in neither of the two periods. In general, caloric and protein intakes were lower when children were ill than when they were healthy; similarly, their intake was lower when diarrhea lasted more than three days. These findings point out that the possible cause of the lower food consumption during illness was that children were anorexic. On the other hand, similarity of liquid intake during both periods probably was because children were not dehydrated. The problem of the children's low food consumption could be solved if mothers feed them more frequently during the day, or if they provide them meals with more caloric density.
García
B
B
Delgado
H
H
Molina
M
M
D000208:Acute Disease; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000628:therapy; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011446:Prospective Studies
Alimentación de niños pequeños con diarrea leve. Estudio del comportamiento de 20 madres en un área periurbana de la Ciudad de Guatemala.