Draft Australian Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 3MB) - Eat For Health

5.2.4 Other benefitsSudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): There is evidence to suggest that breastfeeding reducesthe risk of SIDS (Grade C, Section 23.4 in Evidence Report [14]).Gastrointestinal infection: There is probable evidence that children who are exclusively breastfedfor six months have lower morbidity from gastrointestinal infection than those who are given bothbreastmilk and formula at the age of 3-4 months (Grade B, Section 23.2 in Evidence Report [14]).Factors in breastmilk such as secretory IgA, oligosaccharides and lactoferrin may protect the infantfrom various infections through passive immunity [483].Asthma: Recent evidence suggests an association between breastfeeding and lower incidences ofasthma (Grade C, Section 23.3 in Evidence Report [14]). Data from the Longitudinal Study ofAustralian Children suggest a strong and significant protective effect of breastfeeding on wheezingand asthma in infancy, which increases with increasing breastfeeding duration (seehttp://www.asthmamonitoring.org).Atopic dermatitis: Recent evidence also suggests an association between breastfeeding andprotection against atopic dermatitis in children with a family history of this condition, but not inthose without a family history (Grade C, Section 23.3 in Evidence Report [14]).Lactational amenorrhea: Exclusive breastfeeding for six months or more prolongs lactationalamenorrhea for mothers and delays the return of fertility (Grade B, Section 23.2 in EvidenceReport [14]), which may be a benefit for some women as the lactational amenorrhoea method is acommonly used form of contraception [888-890].Allergy: The evidence for an association between a delay in the introduction of solid foods untilafter the age of 6 months and risk of developing allergic syndromes is inconclusive (Section 19.2 inEvidence Report [14]).Other factors: Additional benefits for infants who are exclusively breastfed compared with thosewho are formula fed in both developed and developing countries [861, 891] may include:• protection against respiratory infection and reduced prevalence of asthma [892]• reduced occurrence and recurrence of otitis media [891]• protection against neonatal necrotising enterocolitits, bacteraemia, meningitis, botulism andurinary tract infection [861, 893]• reduced risk of autoimmune disease, such as type 1 diabetes [891]• lower rates of coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis [894]• improved visual acuity and psychomotor development [867]• higher IQ scores, which may be the result of factors present in the milk or of greaterstimulation [867, 895]• reduced malocclusion as a result of better jaw shape and development [896]DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 139