A total of 6,878 babies, born in Crete in 2004, were studied. All the infants were routinely vaccinated and had access to a high standard of healthcare.
It was found that the longer an infant was exclusively breastfed, the lower the rate of infections was.
Numbers of consultations with a doctor and admissions to hospital as a result of an infection were also lower.
The 91 infants exclusively breastfed for six months, with no substitute formula feeds, had significantly fewer common infections than their peers who were either partially breastfed or not breastfed at all, during their first year of life.
The infections they picked up were also less severe.
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