More Evidence that Breastfeeding Makes Healthy Babies

January 2001 - In one of the largest medical studies ever done on breastfeeding, researchers have concluded that breastfed babies are less likely to develop intestinal infections and eczema, a red, itchy skin condition that can be a sign of food intolerance.

Researchers studied more than 17,000 pairs of healthy mothers and their babies at 31 hospitals and clinics in Belarus, a former Soviet republic. Half of the hospitals and clinics gave new mothers breastfeeding counseling and support based on the guidelines of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. The other 15 hospitals served as a control group and offered new moms no special breastfeeding counseling.

According to the researchers' report published in the January 24 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, babies who were still breastfed at 12 months had a 40 percent lower chance of developing intestinal infections and a 46 percent lower chance of developing eczema. In other words, about 9 percent of babies in the intervention group developed intestinal infections after 12 months, compared to more than 13 percent of the control group. And about 3 percent of the babies in the intervention group developed eczema after 12 months, compared to more than 6 percent of the babies in the control group.

"The real and clear message is that breastfeeding, especially prolonged breastfeeding, affects child health, particularly in the area of gastrointestinal infections and atopic eczema in the first year of life," Breastfeeding.com medical advisor and Professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Dr. Ruth Lawrence, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study.

The study, which was headed by Dr. Michael S. Kramer of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, also found that mothers who received special breastfeeding counseling and support while in the hospital were more likely to breastfeed longer.

After three months, 73 percent of the mothers in the intervention group were still breastfeeding to some extent, compared to 60 percent of mothers in the control group. However, the differences among mothers breastfeeding exclusively was much greater. The number of mothers breastfeeding exclusively at three months was seven times higher than that of the control group, and 12 times higher after six months.