I've always thought that breastfeeding reduces the risks of a baby's developing allergies later in life. According to breastfeeding books and experts, that's one of the benefits of nursing, especially when you do it exclusively for the baby's first months. However, a recent study seems to indicate otherwise. Based on the

The researchers found that breastfeeding did not provide any protection against asthma or allergies.

"We found, not only was there no protective effect," said Kramer, "but the results even suggested an increased risk of positive allergic skin tests."

These results are rather startling. Yes, I did exclusively breastfed my child, and he turned out to have multiple allergies, so our case seems to agree with the results of their study. Nevertheless, my instincts tell me that breastfeeding is natural, it's what our bodies are biologically made for. I am finding it hard to accept that something so "meant to be" is to blame for my child's allergies.

On the other hand, for as long as no cause-effect relationship can be established (and it's virtually impossible to do that), nothing is really conclusive.