Six is Better Than Four for Breastfeeding (Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs)

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Mothers who breastfeed their newborns for six months may be helping them avoid respiratory illnesses, report researchers who analyzed data on nearly 2,300 children aged 6 months to 2 years.

Compared to infants of mothers who breastfed for only four months, these babies were about four-times less likely to develop pneumonia and about half as likely to come down with repeated inner ear infections.

"This finding adds to the mounting evidence that the longer a mother breastfeeds her infant, the greater the health benefits," says study author Caroline Chantry, M.D., from the University of California, Davis Children's Hospital. She calls for greater support of breastfeeding in the community, including in the workplace, noting many women stop breastfeeding after they return to work.



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