Abstract:
Objective: To determine the association between
acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) and
exclusive breast feeding practices in children younger
than five years of age
Design: Case control study
Setting: Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children,
Colombo.
Method: Breast feeding practices in children younger
than five years of age admitted with ALRI were
compared with that of age and gender matched
controls. An interviewer administered structured pretested
questionnaire was used to collect the data.
Results: One hundred and four cases and controls
were studied; 53% of cases were exclusively breast
fed for four or more months compared to 68% of
controls (odds-ratio 2). Of the 14 cases with severe
ALRI, 14% were exclusively breast fed for four or
more months compared to 56% in non severe ALRI
cases (odds-ratio 7.5). Proportion of children
exclusively breast fed for four or more months was
significantly lower (p<0.001) in cases who had
previous hospital admissions for ALRI (31% against
62%).
Conclusions: This study provides further evidence
that exclusive breast feeding has protective effect on
occurrence, severity and recurrence of ALRI in
young children.
