The following is a resubmittal of my post to the listserv because of
formatting problems. Hope this attempt works!
Hi! My name is Megan Geiszler and I am a student at the University of
North Dakota College of Nursing. Upon joining LACTNET, I read several
posts containing information regarding why breastfeeding is beneficial
in reducing allergy development in infants. This subject is interesting
to me in that I have allergies and asthma; and I was breastfed for one
year. According to Saarinen & Kajosaari (1995), atopic disease is
common, and incidence of atopy has been on the rise. Genetic and
environmental factors are responsible for predisposition to allergies,
but heredity by itself is considered the determining environmental
influence in the development of atopic disease.
Through the research that I have conducted on this subject
matter by reading several journal articles on this topic, a common theme
has been present. The theme that I have noticed is, exclusive
breastfeeding with no inclusion of cow's milk formulas and other
complementing foods during the first 4 to 6 months of life have a
preventive effect against the occurrence of allergies (Koletzko &
Kinderspital, 2000).
As I continued on this interesting topic, I came across a very
striking study. The findings contradict earlier studies that
suggested that breast milk helps decrease the incidence of atopy and
respiratory problems in infants. The study included 504 infants all of
who were breastfed and than 533 infants who were not breastfed to test
whether breastfeeding helps or does not help with allergy/asthma
development. The results were: infants who were breastfed were more
likely to develop asthma and more likely to react to environmental
allergens (cats, dusts, pollens, etc.) than those individuals who were
not breastfed (Sears, Greene, Willan, Flannery, Taylor, & Herbison,
2001).
In conclusion, I would be interested in other opinions on this
topic and whether we can conclude that breastfeeding does or does not
help in the prevention of allergy development in infants.
Thanks,
Megan Geiszler S.N.
Berthold, K., & Kinderspital,V.H. (2000). Complementary foods and the
development of food allergy. Pediatrics, 106, 1285-1286. Retrieved
1-16-02 from http://proquest.umi.com.
Saarinen, U.M., & Kajosaari, M. (1995). Breastfeeding as prophylaxis
against Atopic disease: Prospective follow-up study until 17 years old.
Lancet, 346, 1065-1072. Retrieved 1-16-02 from http://proquest.umi.com.
Sears, M.R., Greene, J., Willan, A.R., Flannery, E.N., Taylor, D.R., &
Herbison.G.P. (2001). The effect of breastfeeding on the risk of atopy
and asthma: a longitudinal cohort analysis. Journal of Allergy and
Clinical Immunology,107, S233.
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