NEW YORK, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A study in Zambia suggests HIV-infected mothers breastfeed their babies longer than the previously recommended four months, researchers say.
Study author Louise Kuhn of Columbia University in New York says the study suggests stopping too soon may cause more harm than good for children born to HIV-positive mothers but not infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.
The study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, found stopping breastfeeding before 18 months was associated with significant increases in mortality among these children.
These findings were consistent with those for uninfected mothers that show longer breastfeeding protects children against potentially fatal infectious diseases -- especially those prevalent in low-resource settings. To prevent post-natal HIV transmission, however, mothers with HIV should be on anti-retroviral drugs.
"Our results help support the recent change in the World Health Organization guidelines for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission," Kuhn said in a statement. "The new guidelines encourage postnatal use of anti-retrovirals through the duration of breastfeeding to prevent mother-to-child transmission."
