The virtues of breastfeeding for the health of the baby are regularly highlighted. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of gastrointestinal infection and ear infections, decreases the likelihood of obesity and reduces the risk of obesity. better intellectual development and motor of the child. A new study reveals that it would also reduce the risk of leukemia.
Researchers from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa (Israel) and the Center for Disease Control of the Israeli public health ministry wanted to understand whether there was a link between breastfeeding and a decrease in the risk of leukemia in women. ‘child.
“During my research, I became aware of the benefits of breastfeeding for the health of babies, and I wanted to know if it was beneficial against childhood cancer,” explains Efrat Amitay, professor at the University of Haifa. “We still don’t know what causes childhood leukemia,” says the researcher. “There has already been a whole series of assumptions made on the subject and one of the important points that emerges from the research relates to breastfeeding.”
Scientists performed a meta-analysis of 18 studies published between 1960 and 2014. All of them identified more than 10,000 cases of childhood leukemia.
The findings of this survey demonstrated that breastfeeding at 6 months is associated with a 19% reduced risk of childhood leukemia compared to a baby who would not have been breastfed, or breastfed, but over a shorter period of time. duration. This meta-analysis also found that babies who were breastfed at birth had an 11% lower risk of developing childhood leukemia than those who were bottle-fed.
“Renowned for its anti-inflammatory compounds and beneficial for immune function, breast milk is also very accessible and its low cost makes it an ideal public health instrument”, conclude the researchers.
WHO recommendations
“Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants. Indeed, it provides all the nutrients necessary for their development and contains antibodies that protect them from common diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia, the two leading causes of child mortality in the world ”, recalls the World Organization. of Health (WHO) which recommends on its site “exclusive breastfeeding of the infant until the age of six months” and “to continue thereafter until the age of at least two years, by associating it to a suitable complementary diet ”.
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