(Natural News) Breastfeeding your baby can be a difficult task, but your hard work will surely pay off. Exclusively breastfeeding your child for the first three months can lower his or her risk of suffering from eczema later in life, according to a study presented in the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2019 Annual Meeting and published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a chronic skin condition that causes dry, itchy skin and rashes. When scratched, the skin becomes more inflamed and covered with blisters that crack easily. It most often occurs in children before the age of five and may persist into adolescence and adulthood.

For the study, researchers from the Children’s National Health System looked at data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II conducted from 2005 to 2007, as well as a follow-up study from 2012. The cohort and follow-up were co-led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The feeding study monitored the diets of nearly 2,000 pregnant women from their third trimester and assessed their feeding practices through their children’s first year of life. Researchers then conducted a followed up when 1,520 of the children turned six years old. They assessed the health, development and dietary patterns of these children.

The current study’s researchers found that 300 children were diagnosed with eczema at some point in their lives. Among children with a previous diagnosis, 58.6 percent had eczema at age six. They discovered that children with higher socioeconomic status and those with a family history of food allergies had higher chances of being diagnosed with eczema.