The Effect of an Exclusive Breastfeeding Support Intervention on Subsequent Development of Children in the Context of HIV

The South African Vertical Transmission Study supported HIV-positive and HIV-negative women to exclusively breastfeed their infants in a rural area of South Africa where mixed breastfeeding (i.e. breastmilk and other fluids and solids) was the norm. We aim to investigate whether this early feeding intervention is associated with further benefits for children, in terms of development, health and school readiness. If benefits for the children are established, this will have major policy and clinical implications especially in view of the relative simplicity and low cost of the intervention and global recommendations about breastfeeding.