Relationship of breast feeding versus bottle feeding with emergency room visits and hospitalization for infectious diseases.

Breast-feeding habits of 480 Jewish infants visiting a pediatric emergency room (ER) with infectious diseases were compared to those of 502 healthy infants visiting maternal-child health centers (MCH). (These centers are attended by almost 100% of the Jewish infant population.) Among infants under 5 months of age with acute gastroenteritis and upper respiratory infections, breast feeding was significantly less prevalent than among age-matched infants in the MCH group (22.6%, 18.5% and 53.4% respectively, P less than 0.0001). Infants with acute otitis media and lower respiratory tract infections showed the same trend although the numbers were small. A very short breast-feeding period of 2 weeks or less was more prevalent among the ER group and was associated with increased hospitalization rate. These data emphasize the importance of breast milk in reduction of ER visiting and hospitalization rate.