(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- There may be lots of good reasons to breastfeed
your baby, but protecting him from asthma apparently isn't one of them.
A large study conducted by European investigators reveals breastfeeding has no
effect on the development of asthma and allergies in the children at the age of
six and a half.
The authors note doctors have speculated breastfeeding might protect kids
against asthma and allergies for years, but studies conducted up until now have
been observational in nature and not the rigorous clinical trials needed to lay
the issue to rest.
This study involved more than 17,000 new mothers who were split into two groups.
Women in one group received intensive support for breastfeeding and ended up
breastfeeding to a greater extent and for longer periods than women in the other
group, who received usual care for breastfeeding.
Researchers assessed nearly 14,000 of the children for asthma and allergies when
they reached age six and a half, and increased breastfeeding did not reduce the
incidence of either condition.
The authors write their findings make good sense, considering both the incidence
of asthma and breastfeeding have both risen over the past few decades, and
should lead researchers into new directions as far as preventing asthma and
allergies is concerned.
"The fact that most [allergic] outcomes have increased in incidence over the
past several decades, simultaneous with the renaissance in breast feeding,
strongly suggests that breast feeding does not have a potent protective effect
at the population level," they write. "Thus, our results underline the
importance of seeking other explanations for the recent epidemic of allergy and
asthma and of investigating other potential causative factors to develop and
test new preventive interventions."
SOURCE: British Medical Journal, published online Sept. 11, 2007
