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Wean Today, Wheeze Tomorrow
Breastfeeding and Asthma Prevention By Phyllis Ring
Breastfeeding has been credited with a long list of health benefits in recent years. Proven to reduce the incidence of urinary, respiratory and middle-ear infections, infant diarrhea, gastrointestinal diseases and diabetes, it has even been associated with higher IQ scores.
Findings released at a 1999 conference of the American Lung Association and American Thoracic Society are further cause for appreciation – or maybe a sigh of relief. This study of more than 2000 Australian children revealed that those exclusively breastfed for at least the first four months of life had substantially lower risk of developing asthma by age 6. Conducted by Wendy Oddy of the TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health in West Perth, Western Australia, the study found that introduction of milk other than breast milk before the age of 4 months added significantly to the risk factor for asthma.
Dr. Jack Newman, pediatrician and co-author of The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers (Prima Publishing, August 2000), calls the Australian study, very well done. "There is undoubtedly an allergic factor in asthma," he says. "There is good evidence that breastfeeding decreases the child's allergic responses, especially if the breastfeeding is exclusive. The addition of foreign proteins [such as cow's milk or soy] at a young age can result in allergic manifestations. In theory, one drink of formula could do it."
Even where asthma and allergies are present in a child, breastfeeding can reduce their impact, especially after the minimum period of four to six months that the two studies specify.
