This Food Can Help Improve Lung Function In Premature Babies

While a lot of paediatricians and health experts may argue otherwise, a recent Australian study states that caffeine is actually good for premature babies in certain cases, especially in improving their lung function during later stages of life.

Yes, we are as baffle as you are because the last time we checked, the health aspect of caffeine did carry some amount of good news but only in the case of adults! But lets find out the basis of this study.

The Study

Doctors at the Melbourne Royal Women’s Hospital conducted the research, during which the development of over 140 premature babies (under ten days). Half of the babies were given a dose of caffeine once a day with milk or through a tube or an injection, over a period of 11 years, while the remaining half were given a placebo.

On checking the progress at 18 months and 5 years, it was observed that the group that received caffeine had a better breathing ability at the age of 11, than the other group.

How Does It Work?

Dr. Lex Doyle, the lead author of the study, explained that caffeine belongs to a group of drugs known as methylxanthines. Such drugs can decrease apnea of prematurity, a condition in which the baby stops breathing for many seconds.

The researchers concluded that the caffeine acts as a respiratory stimulant, in turn improving short-term breathing rates in infants. The study further revealed that a regulated amount of caffeine actually helped the infants perform marginally better in tests that gauge their ability to breathe out later in life. Moreover, the infants were also significantly better at exhaling during a forced breath.

Feature Image: Medical Daily

Source: Smart Cooky