Breast milk and formula milk are the best recommended foods for babies after birth. They can provide all the nutrients and vitamins required for the baby's growth and development in the initial stages.
However, according to health experts, as the babies grow and approach six months, solid food should be introduced.
Now adding another important factor to support the principle, according to a new study, delay in the introduction of solid foods and providing only formula milk for a long period can put the baby at higher risks of childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia is one of the most common types of cancer of blood and bone marrow in children. In the country, about 3,000 children are affected with the cancer. According to American Cancer Society, the risks of getting ALL are highest among children aged between two and four years.
For the study, the researchers looked at 284 controls and 142 children with ALL. Researchers found the children with ALL starting solid foods very late, mothers smoking during pregnancy and formula fed for a long period.
Each month delay in the introduction of solid food was found increasing the cancer risk by 14 percent and feeding only formula milk by 16 percent.
"For every month that a child was fed formula, taking into account other feeding practices, we found that the risk for this type of cancer was higher. If a baby is fed only formula, he or she will not be getting any immune factors from the mother, which could be leading to this greater risk," said Jeremy Schraw, a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, in a news release. "One explanation for this co-risk may be that it's the same effect being picked up twice. Children being given solid foods later may be receiving formula longer."
