Longer Breast-Feeding Keeps Babies Healthy

For women who are considering giving up breast-feeding after a few months, there's more proof that sticking it out can be beneficial to your infant.

Babies who are fully breast-fed for six months are less likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses than babies fully breast-fed for only four months, according to a study presented Monday at the meeting of the 2002 Pediatric Academic Societies and American Academy of Pediatrics in Baltimore, Md.

The study was conducted by researchers at University of California at Davis Children's Hospital, the University of Rochester and the American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Child Health Research.

Caroline Chantry, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California at Davis, led the study of 2,277 children between the ages of 6 and 24 months. She identified five groups -- formula-fed only, full breast-feeding for less than one month, full breast-feeding from one to four months, full breast-feeding from four to less than six months, and full breastfeeding for six months or more.

Full breast-feeding allows for the use of formula on less than a daily basis.

Chantry then looked at the percent of children in each group who experienced pneumonia, wheezing, and recurrent colds or ear infections.

"What we found was that infants fully breast-fed for six months had a significantly lower risk for respiratory infections in the first two years, when compared with babies who were fully breast-fed four months," Chantry said. "Specifically, the chance of contracting pneumonia was reduced fivefold with two additional months of full breast-feeding while the risk of recurrent ear infections was minimized twofold."

The study is the first to demonstrate that an additional two months of full breast-feeding -- from four months to six months -- substantially increases an infant's protection against pneumonia and recurrent ear infections.

The findings adds to the mounting evidence that the longer a mother breast-feeds her infant, the greater the health benefits, Chantry said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended exclusive breast-feeding for a baby's first six months of life since 1997.