Background: Acute Respiratory Tract Infection (ARI) is a common disease in developing country such as Indonesia with toddler as the most vulnerable group. One of ARI risk factors is the inadequate immunity system in this age group. Breast-milk contains immunoglobulin that will help to decrease the incidence of ARI in children belong to this age group. This study aims to correlate the exclusive breastfeeding with the incidence of ARI.
Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Pediatric Outpatient Department in Atma Jaya Hospital targeting children in the age group of 10-24 months. A questionnaire was used to assess the incidence of acute respiratory tract infection and period of breastfeeding. Researcher also assessed medical records to gather other necessary data.
Results: This study found 13 of 80 mothers (16.3%) did exclusive breastfeeding. Nine out of thirteen children given exclusive breastfeeding were classified as “seldom had ARI” while the rest four are classified as “often had ARI”. Forty-four children out of 67, those were not given exclusive breastfeeding, were classified as “often had ARI”, and the rest twenty three children are classified as “seldom had ARI”. This data showed a significant association (p=0.019) between exclusive breastfeeding and incidence of ARI. Around 56% of mothers had problems in practicing exclusive breastfeeding and the main problem was inadequate breast-milk production (37.5%). Conclusions: Statistically, there was an association between exclusive breastfeeding and incidence of acute respiratory tract infection in children aged 10-24 months. Children 10-24 months given exclusive breastfeeding were less exposed to ARI, compared to those who were not given exclusive breastfeeding. |