Breastfeeding can reduce childhood asthma

This is a photo of a young, Black woman breastfeeding her baby.

Researchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, found that breastfeeding through the first year of a baby’s life can reduce the child’s risk of asthma in childhood.

The study, Microbial Colonization Programs Are Structured by Breastfeeding and Guide Healthy Respiratory Development,” was published in the journal Cell. According to researchers, breastfeeding colonizes the baby’s body with a healthy mix of microbes. However, researchers noted that stopping breastfeeding earlier than the first three months disrupts development of the microbiome and is linked to a higher risk of preschool asthma. 

“Healthy microbiome development is not only about having the right microbes. They also need to arrive in the right order at the right time,” said Liat Shenhav, PhD, a computational biologist and assistant professor of microbiology at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, in a news release. 

The study’s authors reported that breast milk contains complex sugars and other nutrients that boost the growth of healthy microbes in their gut. Baby formula also contains nutrients but promotes growth of a different kind of microbes. Although many microbes that thrive on formula eventually develop in all babies, their early arrival is linked to an increased risk of asthma, researchers wrote.

Specifically, researchers discovered a bacterial species called Ruminococcus gnavus, which appears sooner in the guts of children who are weaned early from breast milk. The bacteria are involved in the formation and breakdown of tryptophan, an amino acid that's been linked to immune system problems like asthma. As such, an infant's microbiome plays a key role in the development of their immune system, researchers said.

“Just as a pacemaker regulates the rhythm of the heart, breastfeeding and human milk set the pace and sequence for microbial colonization in the infant's gut and nasal cavity, ensuring that this process occurs in an orderly and timely manner,” Dr. Shenhav said.

The study followed the rise and fall of microbes in the gut and noses of infants during their first year of life, pulling data from a long-term health research project involving 3,500 Canadian children. Breastfeeding duration played an important role in an infant's microbiome even after considering other factors, including exposure to smoke or antibiotics, researchers said.

“Our research highlights the profound impact of breastfeeding on the infant microbiome and breastfeeding's essential role in supporting respiratory health,” Dr. Shenhav said. “By uncovering the mechanisms behind the protective effects of breast milk, as demonstrated in this study, we aim to inform national guidelines on breastfeeding and weaning from breast milk in a data-driven manner.”

Researchers believe their findings could contribute to the development of other strategies to prevent asthma in children who cannot be breastfed for at least three months.

More in Asthma
Page 1 of 15
Next Page