Breastfed babies could gain protection against eczema

BREASTFED babies are less likely than bottle-fed infants to suffer from eczema as teenagers, research suggests.

A study found that babies whose mothers took part in a large trial promoting exclusive breastfeeding had a 54% reduced risk of the allergic skin disorder at 16.

The PROmotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (Probit) recruited 17,046 mothers and their newborn babies in the Republic of Belarus between June 1996 and December 1997.

Children of mothers who were breastfed exclusively for a sustained period from birth were significantly less likely to develop eczema than those whose mothers were not given the extra help.