Feeding at the breast may be advantageous compared with expressed milk feeding for reducing the risk of otitis media. Researchers found one month of feeding at the breast was associated with a 4% reduction in the odds of ear infection and a 17% reduction in the odds for infants fed at the breast for six months of infancy. Additionally, they found breast-milk feeding lowered the risk of diarrhea as compared to formula. (Journal of Pediatrics, July 2016)
A study found that children who received more breast milk during their first 28 days of life had more gray matter at various locations within the brain at the age of 7, compared to those who received less breast milk. Seven-year-olds who were breastfed more in their first month of life also scored significantly higher on tests of IQ, working memory, math and motor skills. The paper adds to a growing body of evidence that babies who are breastfed generally score higher on cognitive tests. (Journal of Pediatrics, July 2016)
This study of 926 preterm infants provides the first evidence of a beneficial association between breast milk and cardiac morphology and function in adult life. It supports the promotion of human milk for the care of preterm infants to reduce long-term cardiovascular risk. (Journal of Pediatrics, July 2016)
Neonates with specific gastrointestinal (GI) disorders who received a 100% breast-milk diet had a hospital length of stay shorted by an average of 10 and 13.5 days compared to those two groups who received diets that included formula. (Breastfeeding Medicine, July 19, 2016)
Some 77 million newborns – or 1 in 2 – are not put to the breast within an hour of birth, depriving them of the essential nutrients, antibodies and skin-to-skin contact with their mother that protect them from disease and death. Breast milk is the baby’s first vaccine for protection against illness and disease. Newborns account for half of all deaths of children under five. If all babies globally were fed nothing but breast milk from the moment of birth until they are six months old, over 800,000 lives would be saved each year. The longer breastfeeding is delayed, the higher the risk of death in the first month of life. Delaying breastfeeding by 2-23 hours after birth increases the risk of dying in the first 28 days of life by 40 per cent. Delaying it by 24 hours or more increases that risk to 80 per cent. (UNICEF, New York, July 29, 2016)
Sheila Kippley