Breastfeeding Is Best For Premature Babies' Heart, Study Says

Breast feeding has been known to give a variety of health benefits for babies. And now, a new study revealed that breast feeding premature babies improves long-term heart structure and function.

According to Medical News Today, 1 out of 10 infants in the United States are born prematurely. The study's findings will be welcome news for these infants' parents since most of these infants are born with problems with the heart development.

Dr. Adam Lewandowski and his colleagues at the Oxford Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, directed by Professor Paul Leeson have shown that compared to normal adults, people who were born before they were termed have small heart chambers, thicker walls and diminished functions. Changes in the heart are believed to happen within the first few months after being born.

The team wanted to examine if the way the baby may change how the heart develops. The study's lead author Dr. Lewandowski explained the research saying: 'We already had data on more than 900 individuals who were followed since birth as part of an earlier study, which started in 1982, on the effects of different feeding regimes in preterm infants. We invited individuals who had been followed up throughout life to come to Oxford for a detailed cardiovascular study and used this information to investigate how different feeding regimes could affect the development of the heart in the long term,' ox.ac.uk reported.

For the study, Dr. Lewandowski and his team enlisted 102 adults who were in their early to mid-20s. These are also the same people who had been part of an earlier study that checked how different infant feeding practices affect one's health.

"We invited individuals who had been followed up throughout life to come to Oxford for a detailed cardiovascular study and used this information to investigate how different feeding regimes could affect the development of the heart in the long term," explained Dr. Lewandowski.

The team also registered 102 adults who were born at full term to join the study for comparison. The findings showed that those who had been born before they reached full term had reduced heart volumes and function compared to those who were born termed.  However, according to rttnews.com, the findings also revealed that the reduction was considerably less in people who had been exclusively fed on breastmilk compared to those fed only on formula milk.

The researchers say the connection between breast-feeding and better later-life heart health remained after accounting for various influential factors. Overall, the researchers say that the results show that breast-feeding contributes to long-term benefits for the heart of preterm infants.

"Even the best baby formula lacks some of the growth factors, enzymes and antibodies that breast milk provides to developing babies. These results show that even in people whose premature birth has inevitably affected their development, breastfeeding may be able to improve heart development," Dr. Lewandowski said.