OC31 The effect of breastfeeding on the rate of infections in the the first 2 years of life

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood Vol. 104; no. Suppl 3; p. A13
• Main Authors: Arda, Duygu Burcu, Gur, Emel, Erener-Ercan, Tugba, Can, Gunay, Arvas, Ahmet
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01-06-2019
• Subjects: Age; Birth weight; Body Weight; Breast feeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; Childrens health; Developed countries; Developed Nations; Epidemiology; Gastroenteritis; Infants; Otitis media; Pediatrics; Respiratory tract; Respiratory tract diseases; Urinary tract; Urinary tract infections; Vagina; Young Children
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2019-epa.30

Background and aimsThe aim of our study was to investigate the effect of duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and duration of breastfeeding (BF) on the rate of infections during the first 2 years of life.MethodsThe study group consisted of healthy infants who admitted to the outpatient Healthy Child Clinics of Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty for their routine control between February 2016 and May 2017. Files of the patients were reviewed retrospectively with regard to breastfeeding and infection history such as upper and lower respiratory tract infections(URTI, LRTI), acute gastroenteritis (AGE), urinary tract infection (UTI) and acute otitis media (AOM) during the first 2 years of life.ResultsA total of 200 infants (91/109:male/female) with a birth weight and length of 3286.2±446.9 gr, 50.4±2.4 cm, respectively and who were born at term were enrolled. The rate of vaginal and cesarian delivery was 72.5% and 27.5%, respectively. The mean duration of EBF and total duration of BF were 4.2±2.8 and 11.6 ±5.3 months, respectively. In those without any infection (42.5%), duration of EBF and total duration of BF were 5.9±0.4 and 13.4±4.6 months, respectively while in those with 1 infection (29.5%) it was 46±3.3 and 11.8±4.6 months and with ≥2 infections (28%), it was 1.3±1.9 and 8.7±5.9 months, respectively. This difference between each group was stastistically significant (p<0.001). There was no difference in the rate of infections with regard to type of delivery, gender, anthropometric values at birth, maternal educational status and maternal age. Most of the infections were URTI (52.5%) followed by LRTI (14.5%), AGE (12.2%), UTI (11.7%) and AOM (8.9%).ConclusionsEpidemiological data support the benefits of breast-feeding in preventing gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in both developing and developed countries. Our study also showed that increased duration of exclusive breastfeeding and increased duration of breastfeeding in general were associated with lower infection rate in infants in the first 2 years of life. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond. Therefore, lactating mothers should be encouraged to breastfeed their infants and it is our duty to raise awareness on breastfeeding for its encouragement.