Breastfeeding in the Modern World

A tranche of recent meta-analyses of dozens of individual studies provide very strong evidence that breastfeeding has substantial benefits to babies, infants, and young children. The benefits and strengths of association vary according to the background environmental and hygiene conditions in different settings. In low-income settings, the chief measurable benefits for the child are in respect of reductions in diarrhea and respiratory infections, and in mortality. In high-income settings, breastfeeding protects against otitis media, likely protects against type 2 diabetes and overweight and obesity, and possibly protects against type 1 diabetes. It likely improves IQ by 2-3 percentage points. In mothers, breastfeeding reduces a mother's likelihood of breast and ovarian cancers. Feeding these data into the Lives Saved Tool suggests that these benefits could prevent 823,000 deaths in children and 22,000 among women.