Prolonged Exclusive Breastfeeding Increases Allergy Risks

Filed in archive Living with Allergies on August 4, 2006

Yesterday, I discussed a research study that urges mothers to exclusively breastfeed for at least six months, to reduce the risks of the baby developing allergies. How long should one exclusively breastfeed then?

A new Finnish study revealed that prolonged exclusive breastfeeding for at least nine months reverses the effect and increases the risk of allergies. It seems after the sixth month, the baby has to be slowly exposed to antigens (foreign proteins) for the immune system to develop properly.

Well, I cannot imagine exclusively breastfeeding a child for 9 months anyway. The World Health Organization recommends breastmilk for babies up to 2 years of age, but they didn't say it has to be exclusive. In fact, they recommend exclusive breastfeeding for six months and for complementary foods to be introduced between 6-8 months.