The benefits of breastfeeding are innumerable, and one of them is that according to a study conducted in Holland with more than five thousand children, exclusive breastfeeding for six months protects the baby against asthma.
Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center collected information on the food the children received, taking into account whether they were exclusively breastfed or if, in addition, they incorporated porridge or other milks.
They found that those who had been breastfed during six or more months are less likely to develop asthma symptoms in early childhood, while children who had never received breast milk had an increased risk of wheezing, shortness of breath, dry cough and persistent phlegm in the first four years of life.
They have seen that the possibility of developing this disease also depends on the duration of breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding was shown to have the greatest protective effect, which was decreasing as breastfeeding time was reduced.
For their part, children who were never breastfed had up to 1.5 times more likely to develop wheezing or persistent phlegm. Children who were fed other milks or solids in addition to breast milk in the first four months of life were also more likely to experience wheezing, shortness of breath, dry cough and persistent phlegm in the first four years of life than children who They were exclusively breastfed in their first four months.
The results of the study support the current recommendations of organizations such as WHO that advise exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life. In addition to protect the baby against asthma, the most frequent respiratory disease in childhood in industrialized countries, breastfeeding has important benefits for both the baby and the mother.
