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Breast-feeding and infant illness: a dose-response relationship?

J Raisler1, C Alexander, P O'Campo

  • 1Nurse-Midwifery Program, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor 48109-0482, USA. jraisler@umich.edu

American Journal of Public Health
|February 13, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Full breast-feeding offers significant protection against infant illness, including diarrhea and respiratory issues. This health benefit applies across all income levels, with minimal breast-feeding showing no protective effect.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Infant Nutrition

Background:

  • Breast-feeding is widely recognized for its health benefits.
  • Understanding the dose-response relationship and socioeconomic disparities in breast-feeding benefits is crucial for public health initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if breast-feeding provides a dose-related protective effect against infant illnesses.
  • To determine if breast-feeding offers unique health advantages to infants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 7092 infants using the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.
  • Generalized estimating equations regression was employed to assess the association between breast-feeding dose and illness in the first six months of life.
  • Breast-feeding dose was categorized into five levels: full, most, equal, less, and no breast-feeding.

Main Results:

  • Full breast-feeding was linked to significantly lower odds of diarrhea, cough or wheeze, and vomiting.
  • Infants with full, most, or equal breast-feeding showed reduced rates of certain illnesses, particularly if they were without siblings.
  • No significant reduction in illness rates was observed for infants with minimal (less) breast-feeding.
  • The protective effects of breast-feeding did not differ based on household income.

Conclusions:

  • Full breast-feeding is associated with the lowest rates of infant illness.
  • Minimal breast-feeding (less than full) does not appear to offer protective health benefits.
  • Breast-feeding provides comparable health advantages to infants across all economic strata.
Abstract

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