摘要
Normal child development is slow from birth to 25 years.Since Neolithic times,humans have relied on common sense,learned by trial and error,and mourned infants lost to infection and mal-nutrition.In recent times,knowledge of the process accelerated with increasing interest in child survival and health improvement.Historically,infant survival relied on breastfeeding until patho-gens were identified,food technology developed,and infant/child surveillance commenced within the ethos of public health.Today,universal screening of infants from birth aims to identify devia-tion from the norm in all areas of development,allowing early intervention and correction.The personal experience of health professionals can be a positive factor in reflective practice,question-ing orthodoxy and generating new perspectives and corrective strategies.Clinical settings generate practice-based evidence,a prerequisite for research.This concept of the infant as a primary cause of feeding problems demands consideration of a new paradigm and prompts research.
