Breastfeeding and active bonding protects against children's internalizing behavior problems

Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits to offspring and mothers and may improve maternal-infant bonding. Ample evidence suggests breastfeeding can improve child neurodevelopment, but more research is needed to establish whether breastfeeding is linked to the development of child p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2013-12, Vol.6 (1), p.76-89
Main Authors: Liu, Jianghong, Leung, Patrick, Yang, Amy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
attachment
Behavior
bonding
Breast Feeding
breastfeeding
Breastfeeding & lactation
Child Behavior - physiology
Child Behavior - psychology
Child Behavior Disorders - diet therapy
Child Behavior Disorders - prevention & control
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
China
Cohort analysis
Cohort Studies
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
internalizing behaviors
Male
Mother-Child Relations - psychology
Mothers
Parents & parenting
Physiology
Preschool education
Psychopathology
Retrospective Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits to offspring and mothers and may improve maternal-infant bonding. Ample evidence suggests breastfeeding can improve child neurodevelopment, but more research is needed to establish whether breastfeeding is linked to the development of child psychopathology. This paper aims to explore the effects of both breastfeeding and mother-child interactions on child behavioral outcomes at a later age. Children from the China Jintan Child Cohort Study (N=1267), at age six years old were assessed, along with their parents. Children who were breastfed exclusively for a period of time in the presence of active bonding were compared to those who were breastfed in the absence of active bonding as well as to children who were not exclusively breastfed, with or without active bonding. Results from ANOVA and GLM, using SPSS20, indicate that children who were breastfed and whose mothers actively engaged with them displayed the lowest risk of internalizing problems (mean=10.01, SD=7.21), while those who were neither exclusively breastfed nor exposed to active bonding had the least protection against later internalizing problems (mean=12.79, SD=8.14). The effect of breastfeeding on internalizing pathology likely represents a biosocial and holistic effect of physiological, and nutritive, and maternal-infant bonding benefits.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu6010076