Health
Bottle-fed children are 50 per cent more likely to develop asthmatic symptoms than breastfed children, according to the Dutch scientists who examined 5,000 children. It was also found that children deprived of breast milk are much more likely to suffer from wheezing, shortness of breath and dry cough during the first four years of life than their breastfed peers with milk.
The study was conducted by specialists from the Dutch Erasmus Medical Center, and its results were published in the European Respiratory Journal.
Breast milk reduces the risk of asthma because it improves the child's immunity. Breastfed babies are less likely to have respiratory infections.
According to other studies, breastfeeding reduces the child's risk of obesity.
“The results of the study confirm the correctness of promoting breastfeeding up to 6 months without complementary foods,” says study leader Dr. Agnes Sonnenskein van der Voort Sonnenschein-van der Voort).
Less than one percent of children in the UK are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.