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.
Adolescent ; Bottle Feeding ; Child ; Feeding Methods ; Humans ; Infant ; Prospective Studies