"Formula Supported for Mothers With H.I.V." says the
headline for this article in the NYTimes today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/21/health/21MILK.html?searchpv=nytToday
(you might get a "timed out" message- I searched
"breast mothers") the conclusions drawn are just the
opposite of what they *should* say in the headline.
Here is the text: "Formula Supported for Mothers With
H.I.V.
By REUTERS
HICAGO, Nov. 20 (Reuters) — A study done in Kenya
supports the use of formula over breast-feeding by
women in poor countries who carry the virus that
causes AIDS, researchers reported today.
While previous research has verified that the AIDS
virus can be transmitted to babies via breast milk,
the new research was aimed at finding out whether
there were any differences in overall death rates, or
other illnesses such as pneumonia and diarrhea,
between breast-fed and formula-fed infants.
The report from the University of Nairobi and the
University of Washington in Seattle found no
significant difference in death rates or various
illnesses between breast-fed and formula-fed babies.
The study, reported in this week's Journal of the
American Medical Association, was conducted between
1992 and 1998 at four clinics in Nairobi, and involved
186 H.I.V.-positive mothers who used formula and 185
who breast-fed their babies.
A previous report from the same study concluded that
formula use could prevent 44 percent of H.I.V.
infections in infants of H.I.V.-positive mothers. But
the authors said little had been known about possible
health risks of formula feeding in such poor areas,
compared with breast feeding, which carries natural
protections.
"Two-year estimated mortality rates among infants were
similar in the formula-feeding and breast-feeding
groups," the study concluded.
The incidence of diarrhea during the two years was
similar in both groups, and the incidence of pneumonia
was identical. However, infants who were breast-fed
tended to have better nutritional status, especially
during the first six months of life, the study said.
However, in an editorial in the same issue of the
journal, researchers at Johns Hopkins University of
School of Medicine warned against generalizing the
study's results.
Withholding breast milk is not likely to become
standard practice among the majority of
H.I.V.-positive mothers in sub-Saharan Africa, the
editorial said. It suggested that until that situation
changes, health experts should seek means of making
breast-feeding safer for H.I.V.- infected women and
their babies."
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