Mortality and infectious disease associated with infant-feeding practices in developing countries
Abstract
This review examines the available studies bearing on the relation between infant-feeding mode and infectious illness in the populations of less developed countries. In this review we will address the following key questions: (1) whether the method of infant feeding (breast v other) is associated with differences in rates of mortality, both overall and infectious, and in rates of infectious morbidity in less-developed countries; (2) whether differences exist between breast-feeding and other feeding methods in terms of infection rates for specific pathogens; and (3) whether the evidence is strong enough to suggest that any association is a causal one, ie, that the effect noted is actually caused by breast-feeding rather than other factors associated with rates of illness. … Read more