Diarrhea and breastfeeding in infants younger than six months

Abstract

Background: Acute diarrheas have a high incidence in infants younger than six months and are closely related to the type of breastfeeding. Stopping exclusive breastfeeding is a growing problem with the increase of infectious manifestations, including gastroenteric diseases. Objective: to characterize the infants younger than six months with acute diarrheas and their relation with the type of breastfeeding, in patients admitted to "Mártires de Las Tunas" Provincial Pediatric Hospital, from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017.Methods: an analytical cross-sectional study was carried out. The universe was made up of 1150 patients admitted to the gastroenterology ward of the aforementioned hospital with a diagnosis of acute diarrhea and the sample consisted of 127 patients. Different variables were assessed: age, origin, complications and hospital stay. The data were analyzed by using percentages and odds ratio. Results: more than half of the children (58,3 %) received mixed breastfeeding; there were no significant differences according to the residence district; complications in children with mixed breastfeeding prevailed (44,9), much less than in those with exclusive breastfeeding (8,7 %); short hospital stay prevailed which was longer in those with exclusive breastfeeding, out of which 28,3 % were admitted for more than five days.Conclusions: the study showed that practicing exclusive breastfeeding limits the frequency of diarrheic processes and the onset of complications in the first six months of life.

Keywords

• diarrhea
• breast feeding
• complications