Children delivered by cesarean section face twice the risk of developing allergy or intolerance to cow’s milk than other children, according to a report in the medical journal Allergy.The thinking is that compared to infants born normally, children delivered by c-section are exposed less to maternal bacteria and their digestive tracts are consequently not colonized in the normal way. Their immune system in turn overreacts to allergenic substances.Dr. Merete Eggesboe from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, and colleagues, who previously reported a similar association between cesarean delivery and egg, fish, and nut allergy, investigated possible links to cow milk allergy in 2656 participants in the Oslo Birth Cohort.The team found that cow milk allergy or intolerance was twice as common among children delivered by cesarean section compared to children delivered vaginally.
