Your child will have fewer ear infections

Your breastfed child will not only have fewer ear infections, but protection against other infections. Breastfeeding provides protection against diarrhea, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections; in fact, infections of every kind.

But please don't take our word for it. You can follow our references for such journals as the "American Journal of Public Health", the "American Journal of Epidemiology", the "Journal of Pediatrics", the "Journal of Infectious Diseases" and more.

Preceding the references is a review of a study on Breastfeeding and Ear infections produced by the medical journal: "Infectious Diseases in Children."


Breast Milk and Ear Infections
courtesy of 'The Compleat Mother', Winter 1996

Its well known that breastfeeding, especially for the first four months of an infant's life, is associated with fewer ear infections. But is that due to the breast milk itself, or is it because of some difference between the way breast-fed and bottle-fed infants nurse?

It has been theorized that something about the way breast-fed infants nurse helps keep the ears' eustachian tubes functioning more effectively, protecting the ears against infection. But a new study of 315 infants who were fed breast milk from a bottle shows that these infants had fewer ear infections than infants who got formula from a bottle.

Conclusion: it's not just the mechanics of breast feeding but something in the breast milk itself that helps protect against ear infections, says the medical journal Infectious Diseases in Children.


Otitis Media (infection of the middle ear)

Otitis Media is the most frequent diagnosis recorded for children who visit physicians for illness. Two out of three children under the age of 3 experience at least one episode of acute otitis media. An inner ear infection is the most common cause of hearing loss in children.

The infection is most often cause by bacteria, although is some cases, it is viral. Breastfeeding has been shown to prevent otitis media in children. Some researchers suggest this is because when a mother breastfeeds her child, she passes immunities to her baby that help prevent otitis media.

Researchers from the State University of New York's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences revealed how exclusively breastfed children have a decreased risk of otitis media in a study published in October 1997.

More than 300 infants were included the study, in which physical examinations were done and information about the exclusiveness of breastfeeding, parental smoking, day care attendance and family history of ear infections was collected.

The researchers found that the incidence of first ear infections for infants between six and 12 months of age increased from 25 percent to 51 percent for those exclusively breastfed. The incidence for formula-fed infants of the same age increased from 54 percent to 76 percent.

Peak incidence of acute otitis media and otitis media effusion (when pus is discharged from the inner ear) was inversely related to rates of breastfeeding beyond three months of age.

Infants who where exclusively formula fed had a twofold elevated risk of first episodes of inner ear infections compared to infants who were exclusively breastfed for at least six months. The researchers found that formula-feeding was the most significant predictor of inner ear infections, although the amount of time spent at day care was also a risk factor.

Because inner ear infections often result from upper respiratory infections, and children who spend time in day care often get more upper respiratory infections, day care children contract a lot of inner ear infections.

The ultimate conclusion made by the researchers was that breastfeeding, even for short durations (three months) reduced the onset of otitis media episodes in infancy.


Other Research

A 1990 study on the risk factors for recurrent acute otitis media and respiratory infection in infancy found that short durations of breastfeeding is a significant risk of recurrent middle ear infections.
Source: Alho, O., "Risk Factors for Recurrent Acute Otitis Media and Respiratory Infection in Infancy". INT J PED OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY 1990; 19:151-61

A 1989 study determined that male gender, sibling history and a lack of breastfeeding significantly increased the risk for acute otitis media.
Source: Teele, D.W., Apidemilogy of Otitis Media During the First Seven Years of Life in Greater Boston: A prospective, Cohort Study". J of INFEC DIS.1989.

A Swedish study done in 1994 found non-breastfed children ages 2, 6 and 10 months had significantly more episodes of inner ear infections than breastfed children of the same age.
Source: Aniansson, G et al. A prospective cohort study on breastfeeding and otitis media in Swedish Infants. Pediatr Infect Dis. J. 1994; 13; 183-88