Does Mode of Breast Milk Feeding Affect Its Benefit?

While it is well known that breast-feeding provides important health benefits to infants, little is known about whether the mode of receiving breast milk — at the breast or expressed — affects these benefits. To examine this question, researchers surveyed mothers 12 months postpartum about infant feeding practices, otitis media, and diarrhea.

Of 491 respondents, 22% of infants received no formula in the first 6 months and 10% were exclusively bottle fed. Among all infants, longer duration of feeding at the breast was associated with reduced odds of otitis media. In adjusted analyses, the risk for otitis media was reduced by 16% in infants fed at the breast for 6 months. Among infants who did not receive formula, longer duration of expressed …