“There may be long term risks of caesareans we’ve not considered before,” says Sidylle Koletzko, of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany. “I would discourage them for all non-medical reasons.” Researchers say that such births may be a factor in the rise in cases of asthma and allergies. A study of 865 babies who were all exclusively breastfed for the first 4 months showed digestive problems and was more likely to develop food intolerance. According to New Scientist, “the explanation might be that babies born by Caesarean do not get a chance to swallow beneficial bacteria during birth, colonisation of the gut plays a key role in the development of the immune system.”