Mothers with hepatitis B can breastfeed newborns as along as --
Font size:
By David Liu, PHD
Monday Jan 1, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study suggests that mothers with hepatitis B can breastfeed their newborn babies without having to fear that the disease will spread to their children as long as they receive proper immunoprophylaxis.
The review study led by Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China found no difference in the risk of acquiring hepatitis B between the group of children who were breastfed, but received immunoprophylaxis and the group who were non-breastfed when hepatitis B surface antibodies was considered the standard to diagnose the disease.
Z. Shi and colleagues went through a few medical databases icnluding MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, National Science Digital Library, and China Biological Medicine Database and selected ten qualified studies for their review.
All studies are trials with 751 infants aged 6 to 12 months in the breastfeeding group who received proper immunoprophylaxis and 873 infants in the nonbreastfeeding group.
The researchers also found that when peripheral blood hepatitis B surface antigen or HBV DNA positivity was considered the standard to diagnose infection of hepatitis B, those who were breastfed were actually 14 percent less likely to acquire hepatitis B, compared with those in the non-breastfeeding group.
Hepatitis B vaccine is administered in infants on the first day of life in the United States. In many states, parents may oft not to give their children this hepatitis B vaccine because of personal, philosophical or regional reasons. But the vaccine may be useful for babies whose mothers have hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B viral infection is a serious contagious disease. Chronically having the active viruses leads to severe liver damage, which increases odds of developing liver cancer or hepatic carcinoma.
It is believed that the disease spreads from person to person via contact of body fluid such as blood and semen.
Breastfeeding is considered important for both mothers and babies. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to suffer infections and other medical conditions such as childhood obesity. Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast cancer.
U.S. physicians recommend breastfeeding should last at least 6 months, if possible, 12 months or beyond if both mothers and babies desire so.
Add to:
del.icio.us |
Digg
del.icio.us |
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Home
Set as homepage
Add to favorites
Mobile site
Rss
Plain text
Archive