Brestfeeding:Short and Long-Term Health Effects

Abstract

Recent researh using advanced epidemiologic methods and modern technology reveal diverce advantages for infants,mothers,families,and society from breastfeeding.These advantages include health,nutritional,immunologic,developmental,psychologic,social,economic,and environmental benefits. Epidemiologic research shows that breastfeeding infants provide distinct decrease of risk for a lot of acute and chronic diseases.Children who had been breastfed for longer period have lower infections morbiduty and mortality,less sudden infant death syndrome,fewer dental malocclision,and higher intelligence than those who had been breastfed for shorter periods. This siginificant difference persisits for a lifetime and is called lifelong effect.Growing evidence also suggests that breastfeeding might protect against overweight and diabetes later in life. Breastfeeding also benefits mothers by preventing breast cancer,ovarian cancer,and reducing risk of obesity, diabetes,and cardiovascular diseases. Recent findings from immunology,epigenetics,and microbiome state novel mechanisms of breastmilk as a personalized medicine for infants.