Young children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and we do everything we can to protect them. Unfortunately, sometimes we are stuck between two bad options. In particular, babies, with fragile health, can pose real dilemmas for parents. When they’re sick, we have to treat them. However, the side effects of antibiotics could have a lasting impact.

Antibiotics and Asthma In Babies and Newborns

A study of 1,401 children in the United States found a strong correlation between children being given antibiotics in the first six months of their life and having signs of asthma at six years. If the child had no family history of asthma, their likelihood of developing asthma after exposure to antibiotics increased.

The researchers also addressed protopathic bias, where antibiotics are used to treat symptoms of asthma in very young children. As one might expect, this protopathic bias can often result in studies that fail to account for it, and deliver incorrect results.

However, in this study, the researchers said the correlation between antibiotic use in babies and asthma in children was too great to be the result of protopathic bias. (1)

Antibiotics and Allergies in Babies and Newborns

The study of those 1,401 American children also looked at the correlation between allergies in 6-year-olds and early exposure to antibiotics. Their results here found a correlation just slightly weaker than the correlation between antibiotics and asthma.
As a result, they felt confident in declaring that allergies, too, can develop from babies being given antibiotics. (1)

Antibiotics and Obesity in Babies and Newborns

“Gut microbiota alterations are associated with obesity,” begins the article, Antibiotic And Acid-suppression Medications During Early Childhood Are Associated With Obesity. The premise is that early medication use can alter the gut microbiota and make a child’s chance of obesity skyrocket.

There were 333,353 children included in the study, which looked at children born within a 7-year range. The results showed a strong correlation between early use of antibiotics in babies and childhood obesity later down the line. Additionally, “association persisted regardless of antibiotic class and strengthened with each additional class of antibiotic prescribed,” according to the article. Even worse, the likelihood of obesity “increased commensurately with exposure to each additional medication group prescribed.” (2)

Other Results of Antibiotics Being Prescribed to Babies

A Mayo Clinic study had the goal of “investigat[ing] the extent to which antibiotic exposure in the first 2 years of life is associated with the risk of immunological, metabolic, and neurobehavioral health conditions with childhood onset.” Their study “included 14,572 children (7026 girls and 7546 boys) with a median follow-up of 8.8 years . . . The cohort was born to 10,335 unique mothers; 3374 children (23%) were delivered by cesarean section.”

The results? Their hypothesis was right. Children were much more at risk for that wide variety of conditions after having exposure to antibiotics as babies. They noted that the “widespread application [of antibiotics] has considerable collateral effect on the microbiome, which may be of special importance in developing children.” (3)

Conclusions?

Don’t avoid antibiotics entirely–your child may need them. But consult with your doctor and don’t rush to medicate.

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