Washington, July 25 (ANI): Poor HIV-infected women need not stop breastfeeding their babies early or abruptly, says a new study by researchers from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Breast-feeding by HIV-infected women is one of the most challenging issues in infant health and preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in poor countries

Earlier HIV-infected mothers had been advised that for the best outcome for their infants, they should exclusively breast-feed, followed by a rapid weaning four to six months after birth.

However, this new study conducted in Lusaka and Zambia said that abrupt cessation of breast-feeding by HIV+ mothers after the first four months of life did not result in any statistically significant benefit to infants in terms of HIV-free survival at 24 months, compared to those infants who were weaned at an average of 16 months of age (68.4 pct versus 64 pct).

Another finding of the same study highlighted that infants who were HIV+ at four months of age had significantly higher death rates by 24 months if they were abruptly weaned than if breast-feeding were continued (74 pct versus 55 pct).

There was no statistically significant difference in HIV-free survival at 24 months in infants who were breast- fed and not infected with HIV at four months. In figures, it was 84 percent for those who stopped breast- feeding early compared to 81 percent who continued to breast- feed.