The influence of breast feeding on the occurrence of dysentery, persistent diarrhoea and malnutrition among Nigerian children with diarrhoea
Meremikwu, M.M.; Asindi, A.A.; Antia-Obong, O.E.
West African Journal of Medicine 16(1): 20-23
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0189-160X PMID: 9133818 Document Number: 475072
This study examined the association between failure to breast-feed on the one hand and dysentery, persistent diarrhoea and malnutrition on the other in a case-control study of infants (n=1133; males, 12.2+or-7.9 months old; females, 11.5+or-7.9 months old) attending a diarrhoea treatment unit (DTU) in Calabar, Nigeria. The prevalences of dysentery, persistent diarrhoea and underweight were 6.3, 1.2 and 36.4%, respectively. The proportion of the children with persistent diarrhoea or underweight was lower among currently breast-fed children than the age-matched, non-breast-fed counterparts (0.4 vs. 1.95% and 35.9 vs. 49.6%, respectively; P<0.05 for both). Dysentery was also less frequent among breast-fed children (5.8%) than the non-breast-fed ones (7.4%), but this difference was not significant. It was suggested that the findings lend support to the enormous benefit of breast-feeding as a child survival strategy.