Published online August 1, 2007
PEDIATRICS Vol. 120 No. 2 August 2007, pp. 452-453 (doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1339)
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Breastfeeding, Hospitalizations, and the Role of Ethnicity

Lawrence Noble, MD
Ivan L. Hand, MD
Department of Pediatrics
Jacobi Medical Center
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, NY 10461

Anita Noble, DNSc, CNM
Department of Nursing
Hadassah/Hebrew University
Jerusalem 91120, Israel

To the Editor.—

The recent study by Quigley et al1 presented compelling data that breastfeeding, particularly when exclusive and prolonged, decreases hospitalization rates in the first 8 months of life in the United Kingdom. The researchers controlled for multiple variables, including maternal age, smoking, occupation, education, marital status, and accommodation. Of concern, however, is that they did not control for maternal or paternal ethnicity. This is important, because the Millennium Cohort Study previously reported that breastfeeding in the United Kingdom is profoundly influenced by ethnicity.2 Ethnicity may influence illness severity, as well as the practice of breastfeeding. In addition, physicians' attitude to ethnicity and/or separating the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad may influence the decision to hospitalize. Previous studies have revealed that admissions are influenced by factors such as race, gender, and, in the United States, insurance status.3 These factors are critical in understanding the relationship between breastfeeding and hospitalization rates.

REFERENCES

  1. Quigley MA, Kelly YJ, Sacker A. Breastfeeding and hospitalization for diarrheal and respiratory infection in the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study. Pediatrics. 2007;119(4) . Available at: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/119/4/e837
  2. Griffiths LJ, Tate AR, Dezateux C. The contribution of parental and community ethnicity to breastfeeding practices: evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2005;34 :1378 –1386[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  3. Selassie AW, McCarthy ML, Pickelsimer EE. The influence of insurance, race, and gender on emergency department disposition. Acad Emerg Med. 2003;10 :1260 –1270[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
PEDIATRICS (ISSN 1098-4275). ©2007 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

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This Article
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PubMed
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Right arrow Articles by Noble, L.
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Right arrow Nutrition & Metabolism
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