Babies born by cesarean are more likely to develop allergies

February 25, 2013
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According to a study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit (USA), which was presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology held in the U.S. city of San Antonio, “Babies born Cesarean are five times more likely to develop allergies than those who come into the world naturally when exposed to high levels of common household allergens, such as dogs, cats and dust mites.”

Christine Cole Johnson, chair of the Department of Health Sciences of Henry Ford and author of the study said, “These new advances hypothesizes that exposure to microorganisms in early childhood affects the development of the immune system and the onset allergy “. “We believe that the baby’s exposure to bacteria in the birth canal is an important influence on the immune system.”

Dr. Johnson says: “Caesarean babies have a pattern of being at risk by the microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract that may make them more susceptible to developing the antibody immunoglobulin E, or IgE, when exposed to allergens, which is related with the development of allergies and asthma. The researchers sought to evaluate the role of early exposure to allergens and how this exposure affects the association between cesarean delivery and the development of IgE “.

They studied 1258 infants between 2003 and 2007 and “evaluated in four age groups: one month, six months, one year and two years. Data was collected from the umbilical cord of the baby and feces, blood samples from the mother and father of the baby, breast milk and house dust, and family history of allergy or asthma, pregnancy variables, pets, exposure to snuff smoke, baby illness and medication use.”