Exclusive breast feeding for at least the first six months of an infant's life reduces the risk of respiratory tract infections, compared with breastfeeding for shorter durations.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended a 6 months breastfeeding duration for all infants to protect them against gastrointestinal infection. While it had been thought that this practice would also protect against respiratory tract infections, data supporting this was lacking.
Researchers from the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, USA, analysed data from 2277 children between 6 and 24 months of age. It was found that the rate of pneumonia in infants breastfed for at least 6 months was 1.6 percent, significantly lower than the 6.5 percent rate seen in infants breastfed for 4 to less than 6 months.
Compared with babies breastfed for the recommended 6 months' duration, those breastfed for 4 to less than 6 months were more than four times more likely to develop pneumonia, and almost twice as likely to have three or more episodes of otitis media, or severe ear infection.
The above analysis is the first to document decreased risk for respiratory tract infection, particularly recurrent otitis media, in children who are fully breastfed for 6 versus 4 months. The findings support current recommendations that infants should receive only breast milk during the first 6 months of life.
Pediatrics,
February 2006