Breastfeeding Benefits (and One Warning!)
A 2025 Meta-Analysis of Breastfeeding from the journal Pediatrics: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2025-071516
I am reviewing a review article published last month in the journal Pediatrics, the official medical journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP, that looks at whether a baby who takes breast milk or is breast fed sees any benefit in a huge range of health outcomes from ear infections to childhood obesity to food allergies compared with a baby who has never received breast milk, if those benefits change with how long a baby is breast fed, and what is the magnitude or importance of that effect. This study aimed to build on the last review of evidence the AAP published in 2007 with studies that have been published in the last 18 years. The study authors used a lot of large, reliable, population based studies as evidence in their review.
Big breastfeeding winners! Moderate strength of evidence supports these benefits.
Acute otitis media (ear infections): Any breastfeeding reduces risk, and more breastfeeding reduces the risk even more. (33% reduction with longer vs shorter duration of any breastfeeding; 33% reduction no breastfeeding vs some breastfeeding; 43% reduction of longer exclusive breastfeeding vs shorter exclusive breastfeeding)
Asthma in 2-12 year olds: Longer breastfeeding duration is protective. (7-30% longer vs shorter duration of any and exclusive breastfeeding; did not include no vs some breastfeeding)
Obesity: This is actually a dose-response relationship, meaning study was able to show a significant correlation between reduced risk of obesity and each additional month of breastfeeding. (15-34% reduction in obesity for more vs. less breastfeeding and 4% additional risk reduction for each additional month of breastfeeding)
Childhood leukemia: Any breastfeeding reduces risk. No change seen with other childhood cancers. (10-23% decreased with any vs no breastfeeding)
Likely positive effect but not enough data or correlation to show a % risk reduction: Low strength of evidence supports these benefits
Respiratory infections
Diarrhea/GI infections
Allergic rhinitis
Malocclusion (misalignment of teeth and jaws)
Inflammatory bowel disease
Rapid weight gain and growth
Infant mortality including sudden unexplained infant death (SUID - includes category of what used to be called “SIDS”)
Breastfeeding Losers (Moderate strength of evidence):
CAVITIES! Dental caries – 54% increase for babies breastfeeding longer than 12 months compared with kids breastfed less than 12 months. In 2022, the AAP updated its breastfeeding recommendations from 12 months to to and through 24 months to correspond to the World Health Organization guidelines, so this is important information for families who are following that updated advice. My youngest baby was born in 2022, and I breastfed him through two years, and frequently breastfed him just before bed AFTER I had already brushed his little teeth, so I imagine practices like my own contribute to this increased risk.
Likely no effect:
Cognitive development
Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
Celiac disease
Insufficient evidence:
Food allergy
Type 2 diabetes
I have talked about how breastfeeding is excellent for reducing risk of ear infections, obesity, asthma and childhood leukemia; and increases the risk of cavities in infants breastfed longer than 12 months. What follows is my personal commentary as a mom and pediatrician, not based on the Pediatrics study. While breastfeeding and breast milk are amazing for a million reasons (and not just the ones we can measure in studies like these), and a million rounds of applause to you for breastfeeding/pumping/any way you are making giving breast milk work for your family, I worry that parents who are unable to give breast milk for any reason feel that they could be doing their baby harm, which is NOT true. Many of these benefits are shown for ANY amount of breast milk received in this study, so all is not lost if you are supplementing with formula or only able to give breast milk for a few days, weeks, months or whatever you can manage. I was very lucky that I had a good milk supply for the first few months with all of my kids, and either was in school or a job where I could pump, but I supplemented with formula with all of them starting between 6-9 months when they started losing weight as my supply dwindled, and I’ll never get back those hours of tears and anxiety about supplementation.
There are a lot of very good reasons NOT to breastfeed – maternal medications, work commitments, mental health, poor milk supply, prior surgeries, poor latch, and many others. If you have an infant and are not breastfeeding, you have a very good reason for making that choice for your family. I don’t think it is ever appropriate to question a parent’s choice or necessity to use formula if that is what works best for their family for any reason. Infant formula is nutritionally complete for infants and will provide all necessary nutrients for your baby. The study found no effect on cognitive development between babies who had ever breast fed compared with babies who never breast fed, so breastfeeding will not make your baby smarter, and there are plenty of healthy, thriving, brilliant children who were fully formula fed, too.
Article Citation:
Carrie D. Patnode, Nora B. Henrikson, Elizabeth M. Webber, Paula R. Blasi, Caitlyn A. Senger, Janelle M. Guirguis-Blake; Breastfeeding and Health Outcomes for Infants and Children: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics July 2025; 156 (1): e2025071516. 10.1542/peds.2025-071516
