A revised AAP policy statement on breastfeeding includes staggering data that support the positive role breastfeeding can play by reducing the risk for numerous medical conditions in infants anywhere from 15% to 83%.
The Academy continues to recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding as solid foods are introduced, with breastfeeding continuing for one year or longer as mutually desired by the mother and infant.
The updated statement, Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk, (Pediatrics. 2012;129:e827-e841; http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2011-3552) includes data that show a correlation between the duration of breastfeeding and a decrease in certain infections and illnesses. An executive summary of the policy statement also has been published (Pediatrics. 2012;129:598-601; http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2011-3553).
Among the findings included in the policy statement:
Other conditions that benefit from breastfeeding include obesity, diabetes, respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis, atopic dermatitis, leukemia...
