Breastfeeding and HIV

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

07 Apr 2007 05:48 AM

Until recently, it has been thought that an HIV positive mother should not breastfeed her baby. However, recent research is showing that breastfeeding is so incredibly beneficial that even HIV positive moms should breastfeed their children.

I do need to point out that the research I'm referring to in this blog, has been done in Africa. While I don't think that this fact makes the conclusions null and void it is something to keep in mind while reading. When I say that breastfeeding increases chances for survival for babies--that may very well be true in Africa where health care and hygiene are major health issues. In the United States, this may not be true. However, I think the application is that breastfeeding has incredible immunological properties that we're just beginning to understand.

Here are some of the findings of the study:

* Moms who are HIV positive and exclusively feed their infants breast milk for at least 4 months do not increase the risk of transmission of HIV to their infants.

* The longer HIV positive infants were breastfed, the better their chances of survival.

* Stopping exclusive breastfeeding a few months after birth increased the risk of severe diarrhea in infants. (This could be due to contaminated drinking water used to make formula.)

* Diarrhea related deaths (where the infant becomes so dehydrated from persistent diarrhea that they actually die) almost doubled when breastfeeding was stopped early.

Interestingly, there is a balance that must be achieved. At a medical conference in Malawi, a noted doctor pointed out that if HIV positive women are encouraged to exclusively breastfeed for longer periods of time, 300,000 infants each year would become infected with HIV. However, breastfeeding longer would avert 1.5 million deaths that are caused by common illnesses.

I have not thoroughly researched this particular aspect of breastfeeding. I do know that WHO (World Health Organization) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months (where no alternative is available) for the mother that is HIV positive. However, I wonder about the feasibility of donating breast milk from non-infected mothers so that newborn infants can receive the benefits of breast milk and avoid infection. It is my personal opinion that should organizations like WHO, start working on a means to make donated breast milk available, it would put a good dent in the AIDS crisis in Africa.

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger