A collaboration project between University of Bern and University of Leicester studied over 1400 children from the Leicester Cohort Studies who have performed lung function measurements in the recent years. We performed an extensive analysis, taking into account many factors that can influence breastfeeding and development of the lung. We found that breastfeeding does not have a negative influence on lung development in children of mothers with asthma, as some past studies suggested. If they are not breastfed, children of mothers with asthma show lower lung volumes than non-breastfed children of mothers without asthma, but if they are breastfed for over 4 months they show larger lung volume measurements compared with children who were not breastfed. These results show again the importance of prolonged breastfeeding for the health and development of children.

We thank again all the participants in this study. Without their involvement this important study could not have been possible.