Breast-feeding and diarrheal morbidity

This study used a longitudinal survey of more than 3000 mother- infant pairs observed from pregnancy through infancy. The sample is representative of infants from the Cebu region of the Philippines. The sequencing of breast-feeding and diarrhoeal morbidity events was carefully examined in a longitudinal analysis which allowed for the examination of age-specific effects of feeding patterns. Because the work controlled for a wide range of environmental causes of diarrhoea, the results can be generalized to other populations with some confidence. The addition to the breast-milk diet of even water, teas, and other nonnutritive liquids doubled or tripled the likelihood of diarrhoea. Supplementation of breast-feeding with additional nutritive foods or liquids further increased significantly the risk of diarrhoea; most benefits of breast-feeding alone or in combination with nutritive foods/ liquids became small during the second half of infancy. Benefits of breast-feeding were slightly greater in urban environments.