Breastfeeding in the 21st century (Lancet 2016 Breastfeeding Series paper)
A review and meta-analysis in The Lancet in 2016 of what breastfeeding does for children and for mothers, with an estimate of how many deaths could be prevented if breastfeeding were near universal.
- Publication
- In this atlas
Overview
Technical summary
Lancet 2016 January 30 issue, a review and meta-analysis. The abstract reports protection against child infections and malocclusion, higher intelligence and probable reductions in overweight and diabetes; no association with allergic disorders such as asthma, blood pressure or cholesterol; increased tooth decay with longer breastfeeding; and for mothers protection against breast cancer and better birth spacing. Only the abstract was read; the effect sizes and the certainty of the evidence are not recorded. Funding and the series context were not read.
Bibliographic identity
- Type
- Review
- Source
- Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Edition
- PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.
- Publisher
- Lancet (London, England)
- Published
- 2016-01-30
Claims and evidence
Context Children who were breastfed or breastfed longer, in the studies pooled by the 2016 Lancet review
- Recipient
- Child
- Population
- Children in the studies pooled by the review. The abstract compares low-income, middle-income and high-income countries and does not give a gestational age or birth weight limit.
- Care setting
- Not stated in the abstract (the review pools studies from many settings).
- Geography
- Low-income, middle-income and high-income countries (the abstract compares them without naming countries)
- Life stage
- Infants and children, with outcomes from infection in childhood to adult overweight and diabetes
- Gestational age
- Not reported
- Postnatal age
- Not reported
- Follow-up
- Not stated in the abstract.
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
- Included
- Children in the pooled studies
- Excluded
- Not stated in the source that was read
The authors' meta-analyses indicate protection against child infections and malocclusion, increases in intelligence, and probable reductions in overweight and diabetes. They did not find associations with allergic disorders such as asthma, or with blood pressure or cholesterol, and they noted an increase in tooth decay with longer periods of breastfeeding.
Applies to Child- Children in the studies pooled by the review. The abstract compares low-income, middle-income and high-income countries and does not give a gestational age or birth weight limit.
- Not stated in the abstract (the review pools studies from many settings).
- Low-income, middle-income and high-income countries (the abstract compares them without naming countries)
- Infants and children, with outcomes from infection in childhood to adult overweight and diabetes
- Gestational age Not reported
- Postnatal age Not reported
- Certainty method
- Not assessed
- Limitations
- Only the PubMed abstract of this review and meta-analysis was read; the full text was not. The abstract gives pooled conclusions without effect sizes. The abstract does not rate the certainty of the evidence, names no particular infection and gives no number for the size of any protection.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-15
- Next evidence check due
- Not scheduled
Sources and citations (3)
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 4
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 5, fragment 1 of 2
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 5, fragment 2 of 2
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
Context Modelled annual deaths in children younger than 5 years and in women if breastfeeding were near universal (2016 Lancet review)
- Recipient
- Mixed recipients
- Population
- Annual deaths in children younger than 5 years and annual deaths from breast cancer in women, estimated by the review's model for a scale-up of breastfeeding to a near universal level. The estimate is a projection, not an observed trial result.
- Care setting
- Not applicable (population-level estimate).
- Geography
- Not stated in the abstract for the estimate (the sentence refers to annual deaths without naming a region)
- Life stage
- Children younger than 5 years, and women
- Gestational age
- Not reported
- Postnatal age
- Not reported
- Follow-up
- Annual estimate; the horizon is not stated in the abstract.
Eligibility: 2 inclusion criteria; 1 exclusion criterion
- Included
- Children younger than 5 years
- Women, for breast cancer deaths
- Excluded
- Not stated in the source that was read
The authors estimate that scaling up breastfeeding to a near universal level could prevent 823,000 annual deaths in children younger than 5 years and 20,000 annual deaths from breast cancer.
Applies to Mixed recipients- Annual deaths in children younger than 5 years and annual deaths from breast cancer in women, estimated by the review's model for a scale-up of breastfeeding to a near universal level. The estimate is a projection, not an observed trial result.
- Not applicable (population-level estimate).
- Not stated in the abstract for the estimate (the sentence refers to annual deaths without naming a region)
- Children younger than 5 years, and women
- Gestational age Not reported
- Postnatal age Not reported
- Certainty method
- Not assessed
- Limitations
- Only the PubMed abstract of this review and meta-analysis was read; the full text was not. The abstract gives pooled conclusions without effect sizes. This is a modelled projection, not an observed trial result; the abstract does not give the assumptions behind it or say which countries it covers.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-15
- Next evidence check due
- Not scheduled
Sources and citations (2)
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 7, fragment 1 of 2
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 7, fragment 2 of 2
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
Context Women who breastfed or breastfed longer, in the studies pooled by the 2016 Lancet review
- Recipient
- Maternal
- Population
- Nursing women in the studies pooled by the review.
- Care setting
- Not stated in the abstract (the review pools studies from many settings).
- Geography
- Many countries (the abstract does not name them)
- Life stage
- Postpartum and later adult life
- Gestational age
- Not reported
- Postnatal age
- Not reported
- Follow-up
- Not stated in the abstract.
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
- Included
- Women who breastfed
- Excluded
- Not stated in the source that was read
For nursing women, the authors report that breastfeeding gave protection against breast cancer and improved birth spacing, and that it might also protect against ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Applies to Maternal- Nursing women in the studies pooled by the review.
- Not stated in the abstract (the review pools studies from many settings).
- Many countries (the abstract does not name them)
- Postpartum and later adult life
- Gestational age Not reported
- Postnatal age Not reported
- Certainty method
- Not assessed
- Limitations
- Only the PubMed abstract of this review and meta-analysis was read; the full text was not. The abstract gives pooled conclusions without effect sizes. The words might also protect mark the ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes findings as uncertain in the abstract. It gives no number for the size of any protection.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-15
- Next evidence check due
- Not scheduled
Sources and citations (2)
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 6, fragment 1 of 2
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
-
Supports Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
- Locator
- Abstract, sentence 6, fragment 2 of 2
- How it applies
- PubMed abstract.
- Retrieved
- Source effective date
- Not reported
- Source state
- Current
- Snapshot hash
880a968d1507804e2ba391e739f28569c97d4def79958233e4b1be5757a7ab92- Reuse basis
- PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.
Record details
- Record id
maternal:pub-lancet-2016-breastfeeding- Content hash
526539732bccd3ead7a7333bc285de40fc762fd96a0e901ac3df7fd92b4dabd5