Breastfeeding is, in fact, best for baby's health and health care

Your grandmother was right: breastfeeding is best for baby's overall health and health care. A new study has shown that babies who were breast-fed exclusively for 4 months, and then partially until they were 6 months old, had a reduced risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections compared to babies who had never been breast-fed, a team of Dutch researchers has found. Babies who were naturally fed during this time had the fewest health care complications from those infections, researchers found. Results of this study were published online this month and in the July print issue of Pediatrics.

Respiratory and gastrointestinal infections are the most common sources of health care problems in children, with respiratory illnesses affecting as many a third of all infants and gastrointestinal illnesses occurring in more than a quarter of infants, according to a HealthDay analysis of the study. Examples of health care problems in the upper respiratory camp include colds, ear infections and throat infections, while lower respiratory infections include bronchitis and pneumonia.

To conduct the study, the Dutch researchers contacted women who were already participating in a long-term study about pregnancy and child health. The women were asked for information about their breastfeeding habits and also about the health care history of their children. From those answers, the researchers were able to determine that children who were only breast-fed until they were 4 months old, and then at least partially breast-fed until they were six months old, were best protected against the common respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments that can plague babies and children. Researchers suspect that breastfeeding exclusively until an infant is 6 months old could provide even more protection, but the number of women in the study who did that were too few to be of statistical significance.

Researchers told HealthDay they weren't sure exactly why the breast-fed babies were better protected against infection, but they suspect that some of the components of breast milk provide an immune system boost. For example, one component of breast milk is Iga (immune globulin A), a substance that is normally secreted at the lining of the respiratory tract and may have antimicrobial properties, Dutch researchers told the health care publication.

It's an interesting study, and one that should bolster support for public laws and ordinances that require communities to provide space and accommodations for breastfeeding. Too often people are discomfited by the sight of a woman breastfeeding an infant, no matter how discreetly she may cover herself and her child. What do you think of women breastfeeding in public? How is it received culturally in your community? Let us know.

Photo Credit: rkimpeljr