I work in a nutrition program (WIC) that is required to screen the dietary
intake of our clients.  Does anyone have protocol for assessing dietary
intake of a 14 mo. old who is nursing?

We normally use a standard screening tool for children, which assesses
the amount of food they are offered (and eat) based on the basic food
groups (milk,protein,fruits,veggies,breads/grains).  In the past, we have
never specified how to count breastfeeding in this assessment.

My thought is to ask the mom how many *substantial* nursings the child
had during the day/night and count those as milk servings.   Other people
I work with would prefer a more accurate measurement.

I'm not sure we can have one standard that would work for all children
(i.e. only if mom nurses from both sides would we count it as a milk
serving).  I think that most moms can tell us if the nursing was a
significant one or just a snack, based on her knowledge of her own kid.

Any opinions?  Also, what percentage of moms nursing 14mo olds offer
both breasts at each feeding?

TIA -
Debi VanderMey Barr, MS RD (who exercises for depression!)
Oregon WIC Program
Portland, OR     [log in to unmask]

PS.  About the CD-ROM nutritional analysis of the 2 week old- I am
surprised the CD-ROM was programmed to take infant information.  I
would be interested in seeing what information they based their analysis
on.  Were any references given about where the standard data was
taken from?