Results: We found a large body of evidence for
the protective effects of breastfeeding against diarrhea incidence, prevalence, hospitalizations, diarrhea mortality, and all - cause mortality.
Most studies have revealed
protective effects of breastfeeding on common infections in the first 8 to12 months of life.8, 27,29,30 One study, which distinguished between infectious diseases until and from the age of 6 months, revealed results similar to those from our study.24 Although the authors used exclusive breastfeeding for 3 months as the reference group, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months reduced the risk of gastrointestinal tract infections between the ages of 3 and 6 months but not between the ages of 6 and 12 months.24 We can not explain why breastfeeding duration was only associated with lower risks of lower respiratory tract infection from 7 to 12 months.
We observed
protective effects of breastfeeding on infectious diseases mainly in the first 6 months of life.
They require clear warnings on labels about
the protective effects of breastfeeding as specified by the Department of Health.
And the prospective study by Norris, which focused on kids at high risk for celiac, did not find
a protective effect of breastfeeding.
I query the findings of this study on breastfeeding beyond 12 months increasing risk, and of
no protective effect of breastfeeding at time of introduction — these results are marred by the fact that children who are still BF at 12 months are more likely to have been exclusively breastfed at 6 months, so are more likely to have had solids (and gluten) introduced after 6 months, thus increasing the risk due to delayed introduction of gluten.
The protective effect of breastfeeding against obesity is consistent and appears to increase with the duration of breastfeeding (Arenz et al., 2004).
The protective effect of breastfeeding against obesity is consistent, though small, across many studies.
While the precise pathways underlying the potential
protective effect of breastfeeding on overweight and obesity remain unknown, several plausible mechanisms have been proposed.
There is also a risk that donations will be inappropriately provided to parents of breastfed babies, which can undermine
the protective effect of breastfeeding and cause parents to become dependent on a continued supply of formula milk.
The protective effect of breastfeeding increases with exclusivity.73 However, any breastfeeding has been shown to be more protective against SIDS than no breastfeeding.73
Seven of these studies provided adjusted ORs, and on the basis of these studies, the pooled adjusted OR remained statistically significant at 0.55 (95 % CI: 0.44 — 0.69)(Fig 9).245
The protective effect of breastfeeding increased with exclusivity, with a univariable summary OR of 0.27 (95 % CI: 0.24 — 0.31) for exclusive breastfeeding of any duration.245
For the study, the investigators calculated the current costs of 10 pediatric diseases for which there is evidence of
a protective effect of breastfeeding — including eczema, middle - ear infections, lower respiratory tract infections like pneumonia, asthma, type 1 diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Some studies have suggested
a protective effect of breastfeeding against SIDS, while others have not.
Earlier epidemiologic studies were not consistent in demonstrating
a protective effect of breastfeeding on SIDS *; some studies found a protective effect, 67,239,240 and others did not.
† Because many of the case - control studies demonstrated
a protective effect of breastfeeding against SIDS in univariate analysis but not when confounding factors were taken into account, 62,184,198,231,238 these results suggested that factors associated with breastfeeding, rather than breastfeeding itself, are protective.
OR < 1 corresponds to
a protective effect of breastfeeding.
In a retrospective cohort study, Kim and co-authors, all of Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, investigated the weight - growth trajectory and
the protective effect of breastfeeding for obesity in children.
Not exact matches
The 2013 «Long - term
effects of breastfeeding: A systematic review» World Health Organization publication concluded: «The evidence suggests that
breastfeeding may have a
protective effect against type 2 diabetes, particularly among adolescents.»
Earlier studies looking at the relationship between
breastfeeding and breast cancer often missed this
protective effect because they did not take into account the length
of time
breastfeeding.
Dr Maria Iacovou, one
of the researchers, told the BBC: «
Breastfeeding does appear to have a
protective effect, but there's the other side
of the coin as well.
Breastfeeding might have a prolonged protective effect by influencing the severity, including hospital admission and frequency, of common infectious diseases.8, 38 However, immunologic evidence of a prolonged protective effect of increased dose and duration of breastfeeding has not been well
Breastfeeding might have a prolonged
protective effect by influencing the severity, including hospital admission and frequency,
of common infectious diseases.8, 38 However, immunologic evidence
of a prolonged
protective effect of increased dose and duration
of breastfeeding has not been well
breastfeeding has not been well established.
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
Whilst it is clearly accurate to say that that the risk
of not
breastfeeding is greater with some conditions than others, what is a small
protective effect in one child is likely to have a much more dramatic
effect across a whole population.
Based on their current findings, lactational amenorrhea is still an excellent surrogate measure
of the duration and intensity
of breastfeeding but most likely is not an important mediator
of the potentially
protective effect on MS / CIS, the authors wrote.
«A lot
of the
protective effects we see in pregnancy [such as fewer relapses, which is also associated with exclusive
breastfeeding] do seem to be hormonal — one theory suggests this may be mediated by changing levels
of estriol during pregnancy and postpartum,» noted Lucassen, who was not involved in the study.
This review
of 2,267 SIDS cases and 6,837 control infants explored the duration
of breastfeeding required to confer a
protective effect against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
It is important to note that duration
of breastfeeding, the longer a mother
breastfeeds in her life (one or more babies and the collective number
of months), significantly impacts her risk for breast cancer; the
protective effect of lactation on breast cancer risk is cumulative.
Breastfeeding should continue through the rest of the baby's first year, with complementary foods being introduced, and the greatest protective effect is realized when breastfeeding continues through the child's second ye
Breastfeeding should continue through the rest
of the baby's first year, with complementary foods being introduced, and the greatest
protective effect is realized when
breastfeeding continues through the child's second ye
breastfeeding continues through the child's second year or beyond.
In the 1980's, he was the first researcher to show the
protective effect of exclusive
breastfeeding against infant mortality, and one
of the leaders
of the creation
of the World Health Child Growth Standards based on
breastfed infants.
The American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly recommends
breastfeeding for at least 6 months because
of its association with reducing the risk for SIDS, as well as its other
protective effects.
There's more detail about
breastfeeding and its
protective effect against cancer here, and you can read a fuller discussion
of the lifestyle risk factors linked to cancer here.
For instance, it has been suggested that the physical restraint associated with swaddling may prevent infants placed supine from rolling to the prone position.299 One study's results suggested a decrease in SIDS rate with swaddling if the infant was supine, 182 but it was notable that there was an increased risk
of SIDS if the infant was swaddled and placed in the prone position.182 Although a recent study found a 31-fold increase in SIDS risk with swaddling, the analysis was not stratified according to sleep position.171 Although it may be more likely that parents will initially place a swaddled infant supine, this
protective effect may be offset by the 12-fold increased risk
of SIDS if the infant is either placed or rolls to the prone position when swaddled.182, 300 Moreover, there is no evidence that swaddling reduces bed - sharing or use
of unsafe sleep surfaces, promotes
breastfeeding, or reduces maternal cigarette smoking.
The receipt
of breastfeeding help and information about support groups did not, in general, offer a
protective effect.
At all ages, control infants were
breastfed at higher rates than SIDS victims, and the
protective effect of partial or exclusive
breastfeeding remained statistically significant after adjustment for confounders.244 A recent meta - analysis that included 18 case - control studies revealed an unadjusted summary OR for any
breastfeeding of 0.40 (95 % CI: 0.35 — 0.44).
In one study, a
protective effect of breast milk on blood pressure was observed when 26 percent
of the original cohort were followed up at ages 13 — 16 years (15), but not when 81 percent were examined at ages 7.5 — 8 years (16), suggesting either the possibility
of selection bias in the later follow - up or an amplification
of the
breastfeeding — blood pressure association (49).
These findings add to the increasing evidence
of the
protective effects that
breastfeeding has for mothers as well as their children, which includes reducing the risk
of ovarian and breast cancer for the mother.