Breast-fed children whose mothers have asthma may be eight times more likely to develop the condition than bottle-fed babies, according to new research. Previous studies have shown that breast-feeding can reduce the risk of asthma and other problems in later life.
But in a study published in the journal Thorax, researchers from Tucson, Arizona, looked at the case histories of 1,200 babies from birth to 13 years. They found that children who tested positive for atopy (a tendency to allergic reaction) and were breast-fed by asthmatic mothers were eight times more likely to have asthma themselves by the age of six. This link was only seen among children who tested positive for atopy and not among those who were breast-fed by asthmatic mothers but had no allergic tendencies.
Children with asthmatic mothers were also five times more likely to experience recurrent "wheezing" by the age of six if they had been breast-fed, and particularly if they were atopic.
But breast-feeding can actually protect against asthma and wheezing early in life, the study confirmed. Until the age of two, breast-feeding was associated with significantly lower rates of wheezing, even if the mother had asthma or the child had allergic tendencies.
It was only from the age of six that the adverse effects of breast-feeding by asthmatic mothers began to take effect, and persisted into teenage years. The study said there should be no change to the recommendation that babies should be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months.