A new report concludes that babies who consume cows’ milk formula in the first few days of life are not at increased long-term risk of allergies. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam followed the health of more than 1,500 healthy newborns to collect data; half of the children were fed cows’ milk formula for the first three days of life, while the other half were fed a formula containing no cows’ milk.
The study found that 10% of babies fed cows’ milk experienced allergic reactions during the first year of life, compared to 9.3% of non-dairy formula recipients; the rates were 9.6% and 10.2%, respectively, in the second years of life. Author say the findings dispute previous reports that even small amounts of cows’ milk can adversely affect the immune system of infants. The report is in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.