Prematurity, immune function and infant feeding practices

Recently, there has been much interest in the literature in the role of ear ly nutrition and the health of the individual in adulthood. A majority of i nfants in the UK are born full term, while preterm infants account for 4-6% of the total births. Milk feeding practices are divided into three groups: breast, combination (breast-fed with formula as 'top-up') and bottle (form ula). In studies conducted by our group and other researchers immune functi on in full-term and preterm infants has been assessed by monitoring total a nd specific immunoglobulin E and specific immunoglobulin G levels. Dietary modification by the pregnant mother with a history of allergy in the family has been shown to have a positive effect with respect to allergy outcome a nd prevention of atopic disease in the infant. However, this dietary modifi cation has to occur before week 22 of pregnancy and continue until the end of lactation to achieve a beneficial outcome to the infant. The stress of m others restricting their diets may be disadvantageous to the fetus, and the refore any gain due to the dietary restriction may be lost. Researchers hav e shown that the early introduction of complementary foods and the greater diversity of these foods appeared to result in an increase in the incidence of atopic disease in the infant. In conclusion, in order to reduce the ris k in their babies, mothers with a family history of atopic disease should b reast-feed for more than 15 weeks and introduce solid foods after 4 months, limiting the variety until at least 6 months.