Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding.

Study answer

What this study found

Exclusive breastfeeding for six months reduced gastrointestinal infections and did not impair weight or length gain through six to twelve months. Mothers experienced longer lactational amenorrhea and greater postpartum weight loss. No long-term benefits on obesity, atopy, cognition, or behavior were observed. In developing-country settings with suboptimal iron stores, exclusive breastfeeding through six months without iron supplementation may compromise hematologic status, which can be addressed by iron supplementation. Overall, six months of exclusive breastfeeding is supported as a general…

Study & population

Study designs included randomized controlled trials (two Honduran trials) and cluster-randomized PROBIT trial in Belarus; observational cohort and cross-sectional studies from developing and developed countries.

Intervention

Exclusive breastfeeding for six months vs exclusive breastfeeding for three to four months followed by continued mixed breastfeeding through six months.

Key limitation

Limitations include reliance on observational designs for many outcomes, small sample sizes in key trials, heterogeneity in definitions of exclusive breastfeeding, potential confounding by indication and reverse causality, and methodological limitations in some trials (e.g., cluster randomization, intention-to-treat…

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Original abstract