Association of early-term birth and breastfeeding practices with nutritional outcomes in singleton term infants: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Limited research has explored the associations of gestational age (GA) and breastfeeding practices with growth and nutrition in term infants. Methods This multicenter cross-sectional study recruited 7299 singleton term infants from well-child visits in Shandong, China, between March 2021 and November 2022. Data on GA, gender, ethnicity, birth weight, parental heights, gestational diabetes and hypertension, age at visit, breastfeeding practices (point-in-time data at visit for infants 4. Linear regression models adjused for covariates explored the impact of GA and breastfeeding practices on LAZ and WLZ, while logistic regression models evaluated their effect on the likelihood of moderate and severe stunting (MSS, LAZ 2). Sensitivity analysis was conducted on normal birth weight infants (2.5–4.0 kg). Results Infants born early-term and exclusively breastfed accounted for 31.1% and 66.4% of the sample, respectively. Early-term birth related to higher WLZ (