According to the United Press International News Agency on October 20, a research team from the University of Helsinki, Finland, recently published a paper in the journal Nature Newsletter that breastfeeding for at least six months can reduce antibiotic resistant bacteria in infants.
The study said that because of the weak immune system of infants, more than 200000 newborns died each year due to infection caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. The research team found that the number of drug-resistant bacteria in the digestive tract of infants who received breast-feeding for at least six months was lower than that of infants who received breast-feeding for a short time or did not receive breast-feeding.
The study also found that because breast milk also contains drug-resistant bacteria, breast feeding is likely to transfer drug-resistant bacteria from mothers to their children. However, the team said that the research results confirmed that breast feeding still reduced the number of drug-resistant bacteria in infants' intestines.
It is reported that in order to prevent infection, some pregnant women will use antibiotics during childbirth. However, the study found that this may lead to increased levels of drug-resistant bacteria in the intestine of newborns. After the baby is born, this effect will last for six months. In response, Katariina Parnanen, the head of the team, said at the press conference, "We can't suggest that mothers avoid using antibiotics during childbirth because of this problem. Otherwise, the consequences of mother infant infection may be very serious. It can only be said that doctors can consider whether to adjust specific medical operations based on our research findings. ”。
Due to bacterial resistance, there are few antibiotics available now, and some superbacteria are even resistant to all of these antibiotics. Researchers say that the immune system of newborns is very weak. Every year, more than 200000 newborns around the world die of diseases caused by drug-resistant bacteria. (Internship compiler: Wu Junxu Reviewer: Tan Liya)
