Health and disease in developing countries

From Lankinen, Kari S., Staffan Bergstrøm, P. Helena Mäkelä & Miika Peltomaa (1994). Health and disease in developing countries. London: MacMillan Education Ltd.. ISBN 0-333-58900-9.

Chapter 5

Page 41

• "Studies conducted since the late nineteenth century have shown that infant mortality is inversely linked to breast-feeding practices. It is well known that breast-feeding decreases morbidity and mortality in diarrhea. The risk of non-breast-fed babies in a developing country to die from diarrhea during the first months of life may be 25-fold compared with exclusively breast-fed babies. A recent study showed that even partial breastfeeding could protect against 70-80 per cent of diarrhea attacks in young infants of poor population groups in Pakistan. In the same population, partial breast-feeding decreased the risk of attracting neonatal septicemia 18 times compared with non-breast-fed controls."
• "... a well performed epidemiological study in Brazil has shown that breastfeeding significantly decreases mortality in respiratory infections as well. This finding is of great importance since respiratory tract infections are a major cause of death in childhood hood in developing areas."

Page 42

• "Too early weaning is followed by a much increased risk of infections that cause malnutrition and endanger growth, development and life..."