Nutritional Profile of Selected Nursing Mothers in Coimbatore City

Nursing the child is an ancient, physiological process. Human milk is highly protective against infant malnutrition and the associated infective diarrhoea. All mammalian milks meet the highly specific physiological needs of each species, to ensure the optimum growth and development of the infant. The first step in successful breast feeding is maintaining at an optimal level the nutritional status of the mother. The well being of the infant depends to a considerable extent on the diet of its mother during pregnancy and lactation.