Infants who are not breastfed are at mildly increased risk of
developing acute and chronic diseases, including lower respiratory
infection, ear
infections, bacteremia,
bacterial meningitis, botulism,
urinary tract infection and necrotizing enterocolitis.
Research in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other
developed countries, among predominantly middle - class populations, provides strong evidence that human milk feeding decreases the incidence and / or severity of diarrhea,1 - 5 lower respiratory
infection,6 - 9 otitis media,3,10 - 14bacteremia, 15,16
bacterial meningitis, 15,17 botulism, 18
urinary tract infection, 19 and necrotizing enterocolitis.20, 21 There are a number of studies that show a possible protective effect of human milk feeding against sudden infant death syndrome,22 - 24insulin - dependent diabetes mellitus,25 - 27 Crohn's disease, 28,29 ulcerative colitis, 29 lymphoma, 30,31 allergic diseases,32 - 34 and other chronic digestive diseases.35 - 37 Breastfeeding has also been related to possible enhancement of cognitive development.38, 39
Every year, some 150 million people
develop an
infection of the
urinary tract, which makes it one of the world's most common non-infectious
bacterial conditions.