Immunity and breastfeeding

[SilverMoon010]

I'm curious....How long does immunity last for baby when breastfeeding? I tried a search on this on past threads, as well as Google, but couldn't really find a definitive answer.  I did read immunity only lasts up to 6 months for the baby/child after weaned.  Is this true?

[Hattie'sMama]

I don't think it goes away. I think that as long as you are nursing, your body will produce antibodies to the germs you are exposed to and pass them along. I've read that the antibodies actually increase once the child becomes a toddler..which makes sense since they probably bring home a lot more germs!

[foreverinbluejeans]

I think the best answer would be for as long as the child breastfeeds. Some of the immune factors from breastmilk would stay in the child's system for a short time after weaning. Some people (even doctors) think that children only get immunological benefits for 3 or 6 months.

[Asiago]

Quote:

 There is also interesting evidence for an enhanced protection remaining for years after lactation against diarrhea, respiratory tract infections, otitis media, Haemophilus influenzae type b infections, and wheezing illness. In several instances the protection seems to improve with the duration of breastfeeding.    

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9892025?dopt=Abstract 

Obviously, human breast milk contains a wealth of immunologic and other protective mechanisms that decrease neonatal infections. But, is that the whole story, or are there effects that reach beyond infancy? Do immunologic factors in breast milk influence the development of the infant's immune system to the extent that they influence the pathogenesis of chronic disease later in life?  

(read on)

http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/content/full/106/4/203 

Unrelated to your question but here are concentrations of immunologic factors in breastmilk:

TABLE 6-5 Concentrations of Immunologic Factors in Human Milk During Several Phases of Lactation^a

	Mean Concentration, mg/ml ± SD,b by Stage of Lactation
Factors	2–3 days	1 month	6 months	1 year	2 years
Lactoferrin	5.3 ± 12.9	1.9 ± 0.3	1.4 ± 0.4	1.0 ± 0.2	1.2 ± 0.1
Secretory IgAc	2 ± 2.5	1 ± 0.3	0.5 ± 0.1	1 ± 0.3	1.1 ± 0.2
Lysozyme	0.09 ± 0.03	0.02 ± 0.03	0.25 ± 0.12	0.2 ± 0.1	0.19 ± 0.03
a From Goldman and Goldblum (1989b) with permission. b SD = Standard deviation. c IgA = Immunoglobulin A.

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309043913&page=134 

[katelove]

Originally Posted by SilverMoon010 

.  I did read immunity only lasts up to 6 months for the baby/child after weaned.  Is this true?

No, it isn't. A child will continue to receive the full benefits for as long as they breastfeed. Once breastfeeding stops however the immune benefits also end. The longest lived phagocyte survives up to about 2 weeks and antibodies have different lifespans depending on the disease but antibodies from BM do not confer long-term immunity in the same way that actually contracting the disease does.