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Cesarean delivery linked to milk allergy, GERD in offspring

Mahboobeh Mahdavinia

Children delivered by cesarean were more likely to have milk allergy and GERD, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

“Gestational and maternal factors such as mode of delivery and duration of pregnancy have been linked to development of atopy,” Aame B. Andy-Nweye, of the allergy/immunology division at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and colleagues wrote.

Researchers reviewed data from 195 mothers whose children had food allergy.

Andy-Nweye and colleagues found 26.8% of the children with milk allergy were born by cesarean, compared to19.6% of children born by cesarean that did not have milk allergy (P = 0.04). Also, 25.4% of the children with GERD were born by cesarean, compared to 11.4% of children without GERD (P = .001). In addition, children with a history of atopic dermatitis were born at a mean of 37.5 weeks, while those without such history were born at a mean of 38.2 weeks.

“These observations might be due to a causative link of gestational/delivery factors related to [food allergy] and [atopic dermatitis] or to a possible underlying cause resulting in shorter gestation time and need for cesarean as well as the predisposition to atopy in these children,” Andy-Nweye and colleagues wrote.

 

Children delivered by cesarean were more likely to have milk allergy and GERD, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

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Study co-author Mahboobeh Mahdavinia, MD, PhD, assistant professor of allergy and immunology at Rush University Medical Center, discussed other clinical considerations resulting from the study.

“The benefit of a vaginal birth from an immunologic standpoint is that the mother's microbiome can be transmitted to the infant which furnishes a suitable immunologic background to build on. Whenever possible and safe for the mother and child a vaginal birth is preferred,” she told Healio Primary Care Today. – by Janel Miller

Reference: Andy-Nweye A, et al. “Mode of delivery and duration of pregnancy is associated with allergy to milk and atopic dermatitis in children.” Presented at: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting; Feb. 22-25, 2019; San Francisco.

Disclosures: Healio Primary Care Today was unable to determine the authors relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.