Muttermilch tut der Lunge gut

Children breastfed for four months or more have better lung function values at school age than children who were not breastfed. On the face of it, things are simple: breastfeeding has many benefits for newborns, for mothers and for society. But a few years ago, data from the United States was published suggesting that for children of asthmatic mothers, being breastfed increased their risk of developing asthma later in life. So would it be better for mothers with asthma not to breastfeed their children? A research group led by Claudia Kühni of the University of Bern has now refuted these doubts. The researchers analyzed all the health indicators of 1458 school children in Great Britain. They conclude that the milk of asthmatic mothers has a positive influence on the freedom of the airways of their children, although it is not yet known why. Prolonged breastfeeding and lung size In the case of the 273 children of asthmatic mothers, it was even found that, in addition to having a positive effect on breathing freedom, breastfeeding probably influenced lung size: the longer the children were breastfed, the greater their average lung volume. On the basis of their statistical analyses, the researchers consider it unlikely that this effect is due to the antibodies contained in breast milk. It is true that these antibodies reduce the frequency of respiratory infections during the first years of life, which could have a positive impact on lung function. However, in the cohort analyzed, antibodies do not explain the correlation observed between the duration of breastfeeding and respiratory function. Hormonal or mechanical stimulation