Dear Lactnet Friends:

I read the title of this article with interest " Breastfeeding and the risk
of rotavirus diarrhea in hospitalized infants in Uganda: a matched case
control study."  The article is open access, free to all, at this link <
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3049117/?tool=pubmed>

As the finding that breastfeeding was not protective against rotavirus in
this study went against everything I have ever learned, I explored further.
While rotavirus diarrhea is very well defined in the study, and the
methodologies are well described, the breastfeeding analysis is crap. Look
at this:

" We defined an infant as "breastfed" if breast milk, either received
directly from the breast or expressed, constitutes any portion of the infant
diet. Feeding practice recall period was limited to 1 week prior to the
interview."

The study does get better: "In our study, sixty-three percent of the feeding
practice was complementary breastfeeding. The factors determining the
feeding practices are not random between the breastfed and non-breastfed
infants. We may therefore be observing the impact of the complementary feeds
on the risk of *rotavirus *diarrhea rather than the breastfeeding itself."

"The results from our study suggest that it may not just be breastfeeding
but the mode of breastfeeding that determines its benefits. The protective
effect of breastfeeding against *rotavirus *diarrhea has mainly been found
in infants of 6 months and below
[15<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8414854>].
These results also suggest that the observed non-benefit of breastfeeding
against *rotavirus *may be due to environmental and sanitation factors
rather than the breastfeeding itself. This therefore suggests that
consideration of the background factors is critical in the realization of
the benefits of breastfeeding on*rotavirus *diarrhea. Given the overall
benefits of breastfeeding especially against bacterial diarrheal diseases,
exclusive breastfeeding should be encouraged."

These two paragraphs are what I would expect. Why then, is this the
conclusion,  "Our study findings failed to show breastfeeding as protective
against *rotavirus *diarrhea in infants. Since most of our study
participants were above six months of age and on complimentary feeding, we
recommend another study particularly focusing on breastfeeding and *
rotavirus *diarrhea in the first 6 months of life."???

Why couldn't the conclusion be that  "breastfeeding is not protective
against rotavirus diarrhea in partially breastfed infants"????

GRRR!!!

warmly,

-- 
Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI, ANLC, CKC
craniosacral therapy practitioner
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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