Publications by authors named "Irina Vanilovich"
The evidence that breast-feeding protects against obesity is based on observational studies, with potential for confounding and selection bias. This article summarizes a previously published study in which we assessed whether an intervention designed to promote exclusive and prolonged breast-feeding affects children's height, weight, adiposity, and blood pressure (BP) at age 6.5 y.
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- The study investigates the impact of prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding on cognitive development in children at age 6.5, utilizing a cluster-randomized trial with over 17,000 participants from Belarus.
- Findings indicate that the intervention significantly increased exclusive breastfeeding rates and positively correlated with higher IQ scores and better academic performance in reading and writing for the experimental group compared to controls.
- The results suggest that breastfeeding may enhance cognitive abilities, helping to establish a stronger link between breastfeeding practices and child development outcomes.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effects of breastfeeding on child behavior and maternal adjustment.
Methods: We followed up children who were in the Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial, a cluster-randomized trial of a breastfeeding promotion intervention based on the World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. A total of 17,046 healthy, breastfeeding mother-infant pairs were enrolled from 31 Belarussian maternity hospitals and affiliated polyclinics; 13,889 (81.
Background: The evidence that breastfeeding protects against obesity and a variety of chronic diseases comes almost entirely from observational studies, which have a potential for bias due to confounding, selection bias, and selective publication.
Objective: We assessed whether an intervention designed to promote exclusive and prolonged breastfeeding affects children's height, weight, adiposity, and blood pressure at age 6.5 y.
Objective: To assess whether exclusive and prolonged breast feeding reduces the risk of childhood asthma and allergy by age 6.5 years.
Design: Cluster randomised trial.
Objective: To examine the effects of formula, other milks, other liquids, cereals, and other solid foods on growth during infancy.
Study Design: Observational cohort study nested within a large (n=17,046), cluster-randomized trial. We compared growth [weight-for-age, length-for-age, and weight-for-length z scores (WAZ, LAZ, WLZ) and head circumference (HC)] during the intervals 1 to 3, 3 to 6, 6 to 9, and 9 to 12 months, using hierarchical multivariate regression to control for size at the beginning of each interval, maternal education, geographic region, and urban versus rural location.
Background: Opinions and recommendations about the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding have been strongly divided, but few published studies have provided direct evidence on the relative risks and benefits of different breastfeeding durations in recipient infants.
Objective: We examined the effects on infant growth and health of 3 compared with 6 mo of exclusive breastfeeding.
Design: We conducted an observational cohort study nested within a large randomized trial in Belarus by comparing 2862 infants exclusively breastfed for 3 mo (with continued mixed breastfeeding through >/= 6 mo) with 621 infants who were exclusively breastfed for >/= 6 mo.
Background: Available evidence suggests that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding is associated with lower infant weight and length by 6 to 12 months of age. This evidence, however, is based on observational studies, which are unable to separate the effects of feeding mode per se from selection bias, reverse causality, and the confounding effects of maternal attitudinal factors.
Design/methods: A cluster-randomized trial in the Republic of Belarus of a breastfeeding promotion intervention modeled on the World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative versus control (then current) infant feeding practices.