 News
2nd June 2008
Breast-feeding protects girls (but not boys) from chest
infections Breast-feeding protects girls from serious respiratory infections
although it does little to help boys with chest illnesses, according to researchers.
The team tracked a group of very low birth weight, pre-term infants to
gauge the protective effect of breast-feeding against infections in babies. They
found that breast-fed girls were far less likely than breast-fed boys to develop
serious respiratory infections requiring hospitalization. Bronchiolitis
is an infection of the airways of the lungs seen most often in infants between
three and six months old. The researchers studied a group of 119 high-risk
infants in Buenos Aires who weighed under 3.3 pounds at delivery. This
population is highly susceptible to these kinds of infections. Fifty per
cent of the baby girls who were formula-fed had to be hospitalized when they experienced
their first respiratory infection, compared to just seven per cent of breast-fed
girls, the researchers wrote in the journal Pediatrics. However, there
was no difference between the boys who were breast-fed or formula-fed - with about
19 per cent of both groups needing hospitalization when they got their first respiratory
infection. The pattern repeated throughout the first year of life and in
subsequent infections, the researchers said. "There are many, many different
diseases that are protected against by breast-feeding. It's a great source of
nutrition. It's important for development. Everyone benefits from breast-feeding,"
Dr Fernando Polack of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland said. "Now,
in the specific case of acute respiratory diseases like bronchiolitis and viral
infections of the respiratory tract, it seems that there is greater benefit in
girls than in boys. And that benefit is substantial," he said. Previous
studies have found that breast-fed babies enjoy a range of health benefits compared
to those given baby formula. These include fewer ear, stomach or intestinal
infections, digestive problems, skin diseases and allergies, and less risk of
developing high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Some research has
even suggested that breast-feeding can boost a baby's intelligence. The
NHS recommends a healthy mother to breastfeed her baby for the first six months.
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