Breastfed kids have healthier minds
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BABIES who are breastfed are less likely to develop behavior problems by the time they reach the age of five than those who receive formula milk, scientists said yesterday.
In a study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal, British researchers used a "strengths and difficulties" questionnaire completed by parents about their children and found that abnormal scores were less common in children who were breastfed for at least four months.
Maria Quigley of the national perinatal epidemiology unit at Oxford University, who led the work, said the findings "provide even more evidence for the benefits of breastfeeding."
"Mothers who want to breastfeed should be given all the support they need. Many women struggle to breastfeed for as long as they might otherwise like, and many don't receive the support that might make a difference," she said in a statement.
Some benefits of breastfeeding are already well known - for example breastfed babies have lower rates of infections, and mothers who breastfeed have a reduced risk of breast cancer. A range of other health and child development benefits have also been suggested - such as fewer behavioral problems and lower levels of obesity - but the British team said results have been inconsistent across different studies.
The researchers said one possible reason for the findings was that breast milk contains large amounts of essential long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, growth factors and hormones which are important in brain and nervous system development.
The results might also be explained by the fact that breastfeeding leads to more interaction between mother and child and the acquisition of acceptable behaviors, they said.
In a study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal, British researchers used a "strengths and difficulties" questionnaire completed by parents about their children and found that abnormal scores were less common in children who were breastfed for at least four months.
Maria Quigley of the national perinatal epidemiology unit at Oxford University, who led the work, said the findings "provide even more evidence for the benefits of breastfeeding."
"Mothers who want to breastfeed should be given all the support they need. Many women struggle to breastfeed for as long as they might otherwise like, and many don't receive the support that might make a difference," she said in a statement.
Some benefits of breastfeeding are already well known - for example breastfed babies have lower rates of infections, and mothers who breastfeed have a reduced risk of breast cancer. A range of other health and child development benefits have also been suggested - such as fewer behavioral problems and lower levels of obesity - but the British team said results have been inconsistent across different studies.
The researchers said one possible reason for the findings was that breast milk contains large amounts of essential long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, growth factors and hormones which are important in brain and nervous system development.
The results might also be explained by the fact that breastfeeding leads to more interaction between mother and child and the acquisition of acceptable behaviors, they said.
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