Could Bottle-Fed Babies be at an Increased Risk for Stomach Blockage?

A recent study shows that bottle-feeding babies may increase their risk for developing hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS), otherwise known as a form of stomach blockage.

This health issue can typically occur during an infant's first two months of life and surgery is often needed in order to correct the issue. HPS results when a smooth muscle layer of the pylorus--known as the passage between the stomach and the small intestine--thickens and prevents food particles from going through. This health problem is known to occur in approximately two cases per 1,000 births, yet its cause remains unknown at this time.

Lead study authors Jarod. P. McAteer, MD, of the Seattle Children's Hospital, examined Washington State birth certificates that recorded each infant's feeding status and discharge data in order to study births between 2003 and 2009. The study looked at 714 infants that were admitted for HPS. Those that did not develop HPS were participants in the control group.

Study results showed that HPS cases decreased from 14 per 10,000 births in 2003 to nine per 10,000 births in 2009. The study also showed that infants who were bottle fed were more than twice as likely to develop HPS  than those that were breast fed. The mothers age also played a role in the child's risk for developing HPS. For instance, those 35 years and older who had given birth to at least one child had a higher risk of having a baby that would develop HPS than others.

However, study authors point out that these findings for a possible cause of HPS are not conclusive.

More information regarding the study can be found via JAMA.