Babies who gain weight rapidly after birth may be more susceptible to respiratory disease

Low birth weight has always been considered a potential risk for babies. Southampton researchers identify significant link between susceptibility to respiratory disease and weight gain in early infancy “Somewhat surprisingly, the findings did not appear to reflect either whether the baby was breast or bottle-fed, or the known harmful effects of smoking during and after pregnancy.”

They don’t know the reasons for this yet, but the statistics are significant, and researchers are positing that these babies are making up for lost developmental time in utero.