Prolonged bedtime bottle feeding and respiratory symptoms in infants

BACKGROUND Infants with chronic respiratory symptoms should be evaluated thoroughly because there are various causes which are different from those of children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to investigate the relationship between chronic respiratory symptoms and bedtime bottle feeding in infants after the age of 6 months. METHODS We conducted a prospective study that included 44 infants who presented with respiratory symptoms for more than 8 weeks and also had been bottle-fed during bedtime even after 6 months of age. The infants were divided into 2 groups; infants who discontinued bedtime bottle feeding and those who did not. Respiratory symptom scores were graded with a four-point scale at 0, 1, 2 and 3 months, and were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS Twenty eight infants (63.6%) stopped being bottle-fed during bedtime and 16 infants (36.4%) were still bottle-fed. The respiratory symptom scores were significantly decreased in infants who stopped bedtime bottle feeding (p = 0.0003). CONCLUSION It is suggested that prolonged bedtime bottle feeding might be one of the causes of chronic respiratory symptoms in infants.