Aim. To conduct an objective and subjective assessment of the impact of breastfeeding duration on children's health.
Methods. For a subjective assessment, a survey with random sampling of 476 mothers of children under the age of 1 year was conducted. For an objective assessment of health, the copying of data from the form 112/u “Case history of child's development” was used. The representativeness of this sample was tested by the method of Professor A.M. Merkov, with the error not exceeding 4%.
Results. The majority of women participating in the survey indicated that after discharge from the obstetric hospital, they continued breastfeeding for up to 3 months (21.8%) and up to 6 months (25.3%). The study revealed a statistically significant relationship between the subjective assessment of children's health and the duration of breastfeeding. The highest subjective health score was in children who received breast milk up to 6 and 12 months (4.2±0.09 and 4.3±0.07), the lowest — in children who were formula-fed (3.1±0.10). The performed analysis of the dependence of the proportion of healthy children on the duration of breastfeeding demonstrated the direct strong correlation between the indicators (rxy=0.88). The presence of an inverse strong correlation was established between the proportion of children with chronic diseases and the duration of breastfeeding (rxy=–0.88). In addition, the longer the period of feeding the baby with breast milk, the lower the incidence of acute diseases during the first year of life (rxy=–0.85).
Conclusion. Assessment of the child's health, both subjective and objective, depends on the duration of breastfeeding; infants who are breastfed longer during the first year are less likely to get sick and generally have better health.
EXPERIENCE OF USE OF DTAP HEXAVACCINE AT THE VACCINAL PREVENTION UNIT FOR CHILDREN WITH HEALTH DEVIATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC CENTER OF CHILDREN’S HEALTH (FEDERAL STATE BUDGETARY SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTION)
