Written by Arushi Bidhuri | Published : August 4, 2021 9:22 PM IST
In the words of the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), breastfeeding is the most effective and inexpensive way of saving a child’s life. Breastfeeding not only helps a child learn, but it also helps them avoid obesity and chronic ailments later in life. Let’s take a look at 5 major diseases that breastfeeding helps tackle at a young age this breastfeeding week.
According to a pooled data from 11 studies published in The Lancet, the likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes is reduced by 35 per cent. As per the National Institutes of Health, the length of time that women breastfed also had an effect on their risk of getting type 2 diabetes. The researchers calculated that breastfeeding for more than two months reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes by nearly half. Breastfeeding for more than 5 months cut the risk in half.
Studies have shown that breast milk is one of the most effective interventions for protecting children against diarrhoea and all-cause of mortality. Breast milk contains a variety of immunological and non-immune components that protect children from enteropathogens that lead to such problems.
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that breastfeeding reduced the duration of respiratory disease substantially. As per the study results, it appears to lessen the severity of baby respiratory diseases during the first 6 months of life, as evidenced by the lower incidence of LRI and shorter duration of all respiratory illnesses.
Another advantage of breastfeeding could be protection against SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected death of a seemingly healthy newborn under the age of one year, generally while sleeping. Because newborns frequently die in their cribs, SIDS is also known as crib death. SIDS appears to be linked to problems in the part of an infant's brain that governs breathing and waking from sleep, while the origin remains unknown. Breastfeeding alleviated the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome by 50 per cent at all ages during infancy.
Another Pediatric study suggests that babies who breastfed babies are less likely to grow up to be overweight or obese. Growth of healthy bacteria due to breast milk, self-regulation and later introduction to solids are the ways in which breastfeeding helps prevent obesity. It is also thought to aid in the development of good eating habits and the maintenance of a healthy weight throughout childhood and adulthood.
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