Ear infection rates in infants can be significantly reduced by breastfeeding, according to a study published in Pediatrics and covered by Reuters.
For the study, researchers monitored 367 healthy infants for at least six months in their first year of life. During the observational period, 305 infants had respiratory infections that could have incited ear infections. In 143 infants, a total of 180 ear infections occurred. Researchers found that breastfeeding reduced the likelihood of an infant experiencing upper respiratory and ear infections.
The researchers also discovered a potential link between a newer version of the pneumococcal vaccine and a reduction in ear infections, but the difference wasn't substantial enough to provide solid proof of the direct benefits of this vaccine, though its link to ear infection reduction is likely. Less exposure to cigarette smoke was also connected to a decrease in ear infections, but these numbers too weren't substantial enough.
Richard Rosenfeld, MD, chairman of ear, nose and throat medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York, told Reuters by email that "Breastfeeding helps boost a child's immune system by providing antibodies and immune globulins that fight germs...decreased smoke exposure reduces irritation of the mucus membrane lining of the nose and Eustachian tube, which makes it harder for germs to grow and reach the middle ear...last, new vaccines make children more resistant to the common bacteria and viruses that trigger ear infections."
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