NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters Health) -- Though breastfeeding remains the
preferred mode of feeding in infants with acute diarrhea 3 to 12 months of age,
researchers say they can now recommend cows' milk as a safe alternative.
The nutritional benefit of cows' milk in infants with diarrhea is
maximized by "decreasing the volume of each feed and increasing the frequency of
feeding," explain Dr. Chaomin Wan, of China University of Medical Sciences in
Chengdu, and colleagues in Beijing and Australia. They published their findings
in the December issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Until relatively recently, pediatric experts had believed that diarrhea
led to lactose intolerance, interfering with the gut's ability to digest the
lactose in milk. However, studies show that human milk has even more lactose
than cows' milk, so researchers began to investigate what it is about cows' milk
that seems to prolong diarrhea in young children.
Wan's team examined the health and growth of 262 male infants hospitalized
and placed on rehydration therapy because of severe diarrhea.
All of the infants received either a high volume of cows' milk (18
milliliters for every kilogram of weight) spread over 6 feedings per day, or a
lower volume (9 ml/kg) delivered over 12 feedings per day, similar to the more
frequent but smaller feeds common to breastfeeding.
Babies who consumed cows' milk at increased frequency but lower amounts
had quicker recovery times compared with infants fed less frequently and at
higher volumes, according to the authors. They speculate that excessive amounts
of lactose in 'high-volume' feedings may go unabsorbed by the digestive tract,
exacerbating diarrhea symptoms.
Wan and colleagues conclude that while breastfeeding is still preferred
for infants with diarrhea, cows' milk was safe for all "adequately nourished"
infants with acute diarrhea, and that cows' milk was "more rapidly effective if
provided in frequent feeds" at smaller amounts.
