WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Dr. Mohammed Essmat Ahmed Albudawlah, Dr. Emad Yassin Mohammed Mastoo and Dr. Abduljabbar Abdulrahman Khalaf Essa

ABSTRACT

Background: Bronchitis, a common respiratory illness in newborns and early children, is caused by variousviruses, with risk factors including prematureness, low income, and passive cigarette smoke exposure.Breastfeeding is effective in protecting infants from RTIs, but its long-term effects beyond that age remainunclear. Aim: To study the association of the bronchiolitis among the infants below 6 months with different typesof feeding. Patients and Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study at Al-Khansaa Teaching Hospital inMosul, Iraq between January and February 2022 was examined the impact of feeding patterns on infectioncontraction in 99 infants with bronchiolitis, examining factors such as age, gender, birth weight, mode of delivery,and prematurity. Results: The study analyzed 99 infants diagnosed with bronchiolitis and divided them into breastfeeding, artificial milk formula, and mixed feeding. The most common age group was 2-4 months, with malepredominance. Breastfed infants and mixed fed infants were at 2-4 months old, while artificial milk formulainfants were at 4-6 months. Males were more frequent than females, and most infants were delivered with normalvaginal delivery. Prematurity was found in 2.3%, 7.7%, and 3.4% of infants. Conclusion: Breastfeeding type andduration significantly influence bronchiolitis risk in infancy. Exclusive or mixed breastfeeding, compared to infantformula, protects against bronchiolitis, making it an economical and easy-to-implement measure.