Does breastfeeding improve the overall health of a baby? It depends on who you ask.
Babies "who derive all their nutrition from breast milk during their first six months of life are less prone to a host of common infections" according to a new study in Greece. The topic of health benefits and breastfeeding has been studied before, but many different factors can change the results depending on the environment, healthcare, etc. This new study includes data on how breastfeeding affects the overall health of children who also have access to high-quality health care. Emmanouil Galanakis from the department of pediatrics at the University of Crete in Heraklion, Greece is the lead researcher of the study that was published in the Sept. 28 online edition of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Scientists are not in agreement on whether or not antibodies can enter the body via breastfeeding. In fact, this new Greek study contradicts a Canadian 2009 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) by Dr. Michael Kramer at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. In the 2009 study, the authors concluded, "no demonstrable beneficial or adverse long-term effects on child health or exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months."
What did the new Greek study determine? According to the Archives of Disease in Childhood, out of the 1,000 babies in the study, only 91 children ended up being exclusively breast-fed for a full six months, and they experienced fewer infections.
Do nutritional and immunological benefits rooted in the antibodies found in mothers' milk make a difference in a babies health? Yes, according to the Greek research, but only if the baby is exclusively fed breastmilk. The study found partial breast-feeding did not offer the same kind of protection.
Details on the Greek study according to the US Department of Health and Human Services:
- Study examined feeding patterns and infection rates among nearly 1,000 Greek infants from birth to 1 year of age.
- Babies in the study had received their routine vaccinations and all were deemed to have access to high-quality health care.
- Infection incidence was tracked at the one-, three-, six-, nine- and 12-month marks.
- At the 1-month mark, a little more than 60 percent of the mothers breast-fed their infants to some degree, but only about 25 percent did so exclusively.
- The longer a baby was breast-fed exclusively, the lower the child's risk for infection and the fewer visits to the doctor.
- Infections studied in the research included respiratory and urinary infections, ear infections (otitis media), stomach upsets (gastroenteritis), conjunctivitis and thrush.
Study author Fani Ladomenou, of the University of Crete in Heraklion, Greecethe writes in Archives of Disease in Childhood:
"Exclusive breastfeeding helps protect infants against common infections and lessens the frequency and severity of infectious episodes not only in developing countries but also in communities with adequate vaccination coverage and healthcare standards."
For more information on the health benefits of brestfeeding and the recent study, check out:
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Special mommy hugs to the wonderful photographer of the photo above: Gabi_Menashe
