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Breastfeeding May Protect Against Babies From leukaemia
Babies who are breastfed may have a lower risk of developing childhood leukaemia, a study suggests.
Infants who are fed breast milk for at least six months have a 19 per cent reduced chance of being diagnosed with the cancer than bottle-fed babies, according to the research. Leukaemia is the most common cancer among children, accounting for about 30 per cent of all childhood cancers.
Breastfeeding is recommended by the NHS as the healthiest option for feeding babies up to the age of six months - but many parents still feed their babies with formula milk. Although the number of women who breastfeed their babies is growing, some 45 per cent choose to bottlefeed their babies at age six weeks, and 66 per cent at six months. The researchers, at the University of Haifa in Israel, called for more to be done to educate women on the health benefits of breastfeeding, while there should also be efforts to make it easier for women to do it in public. The authors, whose work is published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, said there are several reasons why breast milk might help babies ward off leukaemia. The most likely cause is the transfer of chemicals that boost the infants’ immune system. The scientists, who based their findings on data gathered from 18 different studies around the world, wrote: ‘Because the primary goal of public health is prevention of morbidity, health care professionals should be taught the potential health benefits of breastfeeding and given tools to assist mothers with breastfeeding, whether themselves or with referrals to others who can help. ‘The many potential preventive health benefits of breastfeeding should also be communicated openly to the general public, not only to mothers, so breastfeeding can be more socially accepted and facilitated.’
Dr Colin Michie, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, welcomed the findings. He said: ‘The benefits of breastfeeding to populations of children are well established. 'Breastfed babies are less likely to contract chest and ear infections, suffer from sickness and diarrhoea or become obese.’ ‘This latest development is not only a very important discovery, but further adds weight to the benefits of breastfeeding.’ Previous studies have found that breastfeeding is linked to better school performance, a higher IQ and higher incomes in later life. Janet Fyle, professional policy advisor at the Royal College of Midwives, said: ‘This research underpins yet again why breastfeeding should be encouraged and supported. It is without doubt one of the most positive ways for a woman to give her newborn the best possible start in life. ‘The important issue is to ensure that women have access to skilled advice and support to help them to initiate and sustain breastfeeding.’ Not all scientists, however, are convinced about the study’s accuracy. Professor Chris Bunce, of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, said: ‘We do not want mothers who are unable to or choose not to breastfeed to worry as a result of this research. ‘Childhood leukaemia is thankfully very rare and evidence for the protective benefits of breastfeeding is not as clear-cut as suggested by this latest study.
‘Although this research represents a comprehensive analysis of many different studies, it can still only tell us about associations rather than proven causes, which may be complicated by other background factors.’ Written By Ben Spencer Retrieved From:
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