Breastfeeding and Asthmatic Symptoms in The Offspring of Latinas: The Role of Maternal Nativity

Previous research has generally found exclusive breastfeeding to protect against asthma in young children. However, maternal nativity in a Latina population has not been assessed as a potential confounder or effect modifier. Using cross-sectional data restricted to Latina mothers (n = 704) from a birth cohort in Los Angeles interviewed in 2003 and 2006, we estimated risk ratios (RR) for exclusive breastfeeding and asthmatic symptoms in the offspring. 56 children (8 %) had asthmatic symptoms at age 3.5 years. We found a 49 % reduction in risk of asthmatic symptoms with ≥3 months of exclusive breast-feeding (aRR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.28, 0.90). Foreign-born Latinas were more likely to initiate and continue breast-feeding for at least 3 months compared with US-born Latinas. Three or more months of exclusive breast-feeding reduced the risk of asthmatic symptoms in the offspring of Latinas, and maternal nativity did not confound or modify this association.