Breast-feeding Practices in Relation to HIV in India

Abstract

The benefits of breast-feeding on infant and child health are both well established and substantial. Breast-feeding provides complete nutrition for the newborn for at least 6 months and can provide a significant proportion of nutritional needs up to 1 year of life.1 Breast-feeding also confers significant protection against infectious morbidity and mortality from gastrointestinal infections2,3 lower respiratory infections 4, and otitis media5 due to the presence of numerous immunological factors in breast-milk.6 Breast-feeding is especially important in developing countries where use of replacement foods is not advisable due to poor sanitation, unsuitable preparation and prohibitive costs. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.