Impact of Breast Feeding On Diarrhea and Pneumonia Among Vaccinated Children: Single Center Study

Abstract

The best way to give babies the nutrition they need to grow and develop is through breast milk. Objective: To assess the combine effect of breast feeding, Rota virus vaccine and Pneumococcal vaccine on frequency of Diarrhea and Pneumonia in children less than 5 years of age. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Department of Pediatrics at Darul sehat hospital, Karachi. Participants were selected by convenience sampling and interview-based questionnaire was used.   196 Participants were interviewed which included mothers of infant and children from 6 months to 5 years of age, who received complete or partial vaccination according to Expanded program of Immunization (EPI) schedule with   information on history of diarrhea and pneumonia.  Infant and children with bloody diarrhea were excluded. Results: Among the 196 participants, 152 (77.6%) children received breast feed,72(47.4%) children received two doses of Rota vaccine and 128 (84.2%) children received three doses of Pneumococcal vaccines. Significant impact was seen with breast feeding and Rota vaccine on the frequency of diarrhea with p value of 0.0001. Breastfeeding and the pneumococcal vaccine both had a similar potent effect on the prevalence of pneumonia, with a p-value of 0.006. Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of breast feeding in vaccinated children, with incidence of diarrhea in breastfed, vaccinated children decreased to (32%), compared to 93% in non-breastfed, unvaccinated infants. Similarly, only 33% of breastfed, vaccinated children developed pneumonia, compared to 85% of unvaccinated, non-breastfed infants.