Effects of exclusive breastfeeding duration on the occurrence and course of pneumonia in infants up to six months

Background: The pneumonia is the second most common cause of infant and child mortality in developing countries, while exclusive breastfeeding and basic immunizations protect infants and children from pneumonia infection. We aimed to analyze the effects of exclusive breastfeeding duration on the occurrence and course of pneumonia in infants up to 6 months of age. Methods This study was a prospective cross-sectional study and conducted in a Grade A tertiary hospital from August 2020 to August 2022. A total 255 hospitalized infants aged up to 6 months were included, who was diagnosed with bronchopneumonia. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to analyze data in this study by SPSS 25.0. Results The number of pneumonia incidences, hospitalization duration and costs in infants up to 6 months of age were significantly affected by exclusive breastfeeding duration ( P  < 0.001). The number of pneumonia incidences in infants aged up to 6 months in different places of residence and exclusive breastfeeding duration was also statistically significantly different ( P  < 0.001). Moreover, the shorter the exclusive breastfeeding duration, the higher the pneumonia incidence in infants. Conclusion Overall, the longer the exclusive breastfeeding duration in infants up to 6 months of age, the lower the recurrence of pneumonia, the shorter the hospital stay, the lower the hospital cost, and the faster the recovery of the infant.