ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the association between acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) and exclusive breast feeding practices in children younger than five years of age Design: Case control study Setting: Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Colombo. Method: Breast feeding practices in children younger than five years of age admitted with ALRI were compared with that of age and gender matched controls. An interviewer administered structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: One hundred and four cases and controls were studied; 53% of cases were exclusively breast fed for four or more months compared to 68% of controls (odds-ratio 2). Of the 14 cases with severe ALRI, 14% were exclusively breast fed for four or more months compared to 56% in non severe ALRI cases (odds-ratio 7.5). Proportion of children exclusively breast fed for four or more months was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in cases who had previous hospital admissions for ALRI (31% against 62%). Conclusions: This study provides further evidence that exclusive breast feeding has protective effect on occurrence, severity and recurrence of ALRI in young children.