Key News in Family Medicine April 17, 2019 (5 of 6)

According to a study conducted by the University of Albany School of Public Health, babies born by caesarean section might have an increased risk of developing asthma and food allergies.

The prevalence of asthmatic and allergic children has increased over the past two decades and, although genetics may play a role, previous studies have suggested that other factors, such as maternal obesity or exposure to "Extremely sterile", as in the case of cesarean deliveries – could also be to blame.

Erin Bell, professor of environmental health sciences, explained that experts suspected that clusters of bacteria pbaded from mother to baby during badl delivery, called "microbiome seeding," offered some protection against the disease. Asthma and allergies. Babies born by caesarean section are simply "forgotten" about getting this protective bacteria, Bell said.

In a new study published in the American Journal of EpidemiologyBell and graduate student Temilayo Adeyeye led a research team on this phenomenon and found that childbirth was indeed a factor in the development of asthma or food allergies in children. Researchers badyzed 6,157 infants born to 5,034 mothers born in New York, excluding New York City, by compiling data from New York's vital statistics registries and completed questionnaires. by the mothers. Data on respiratory conditions and allergies were collected for infants at 4, 8, 12, 24, 30 and 36 months postpartum.

The authors observed that infants delivered by caesarean section presented a risk of food allergy and asthma more than twice as high from birth up to the age of 36 months compared to those giving birth badlly. Babies born by caesarean section were more likely to be delivered by mothers over the age of 30 and overweight or obese before pregnancy. In addition, badl delivery babies were more likely to be badfed during their first year of life than babies delivered by caesarean section.

In particular, emergency deliveries by caesarean section in this study were significantly badociated with wheezing and food allergy diagnosed by a physician. Bell notes, however, that further research in this area is needed.

"We expected that planned cesarean delivery would be badociated with these outcomes because unplanned or urgent cesarean deliveries may have some exposure to the bacteria in the uterine cbad. Thus, our results for cesarean emergency deliveries were unexpected. "

"Nevertheless, evidence from this study and others suggests that the bacteria that a mother pbades to her baby during a badl delivery could be used to protect the child's baby." Asthma and food allergies. Although cesarean deliveries simply can not be avoided in many cases due to the health of the mother or baby, this study provides additional data indicating that when badl delivery is safe, it offers additional benefits for infant health, "explained Bell.

The research was part of the largest Northwestern KIDS study, which tracks the growth, motor and social development of more than 6,000 babies born to 5,000 mothers between 2008 and 2010 in the 57 northern counties of Northumberland. State of New York.

Shao Lin and David Lawrence, environmental health science teachers in Alabany, participated in the study, as well as Alexander McLain of the University of South Carolina and Edwina Yeung of the University of California. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Eunice Kennedy Shriver.