Drinking or smoking while breastfeeding and later developmental health outcomes in children

• Published in: BMC research notes 2020-04, Vol.13 (1), p.232-232, Article 232
• Main Authors: Gibson, Louisa, Porter, Melanie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcohol use; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Australia; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - complications; Babies; Breast feeding; Breast Feeding - adverse effects; Breastfeeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; Caregivers; Child; Child Development - drug effects; Children; Cognition & reasoning; Development; Drinking; Drinking behavior; Families & family life; Family income; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Infant; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Mothers; Nicotine; Outcome Assessment, Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Pervasive developmental disorders; Pregnancy; Quality of life; Research Note; Risk factors; Smoking; Social skills; Tobacco; Tobacco smoking; Tobacco Smoking - adverse effects; Variables
• ISSN: 1756-0500; 1756-0500
• DOI: 10.1186/s13104-020-05072-8

Prenatal intake of alcohol and tobacco have been associated with negative outcomes in children. Consumption of alcohol while breastfeeding has also been associated with dose-dependent decreases in abstract reasoning ability and academic scores in children at later ages. Using longitudinal data from The Growing Up in Australia Study, the current study aimed to investigate whether intake of alcohol or tobacco while breastfeeding was related to later developmental health outcomes in children. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed on a sample of 2008 babies who were actively breastfeeding at study entry and 4679 babies who had been breastfed at any time (actively breastfed babies combined with babies who had been previously breastfed). Only a diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder and Attention deficit disorder were associated with lower developmental health outcomes. Neither maternal alcohol consumption nor tobacco smoking while breastfeeding were associated with developmental health outcomes at 6-7 years old or 10-11 years old for either sample group. A relationship between maternal consumption of alcohol or tobacco smoking while breastfeeding and later developmental health outcomes in children was not identified.