Lactation for the Nation - Breastfeeding Awareness Week (1 - 7 August)
Despite the sometimes conflicting results of studies on the effects of breastfeeding, there is strong evidence to support better health outcomes for children who are breastfed as infants, even in developed nations such as Australia.
In the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, paediatrician Dr Patricia McVeagh takes a detailed look at the importance of breastfeeding.
"The constituents of human milk suggest that it has evolved to promote infant health and human growth, particularly to protect children from infections and to support the rapid growth of the human brain … It is improbable that a substitute will ever reproduce the full spectrum of human milk constituents designed to meet the needs of the growing infant," says Dr McVeagh.
The three most common health problems in Australian children are infection, obesity and asthma.
Many studies reporting the effects of breastfeeding, both positive and negative, have had major design flaws. Nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence that, even in developed countries, breastfeeding protects against gastrointestinal and respiratory infection.
There are almost 20,000 hospital admissions a year in Australia for acute gastroenteritis infection in children under five years old, with rotavirus accounting for about 50% of these cases. It has been shown that breastfed infants infected with rotavirus do not develop symptoms because lactadherin, a protein in human milk, inhibits replication of the virus.
Obesity is the commonest chronic health problem in Australian children. This has health implications both in and beyond childhood, as about half of obese children become obese adults. In several recent large studies it has been shown that breastfed children are less likely to be overweight in later life than non-breastfed children.
The second most common chronic health problem in Australian children is asthma. A study of more than 330,000 children has shown that breastfeeding of less than nine months' duration is associated with an increased risk of asthma or wheezing.
Finally, Dr McVeagh stresses that the responsibility is on doctors and healthcare professionals to encourage and promote breastfeeding — for the health of the nation.
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
CONTACTS: Patricia McVeagh (02) 9419 7999 (B/H)
(02) 9419 7319 (A/H)Sarah Crichton, AMA (0419) 440 076