Exclusive breastfeeding and developmental and behavioral status in early childhood

Breastfeeding during infancy may have beneficial effects on various developmental outcomes in childhood. In this study, exclusively breastfed infants were randomly assigned to receive complementary foods from the age of 4 months in addition to breast milk (CF, n = 60), or to exclusively breastfeed t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2013-11, Vol.5 (11), p.4414-4428
Main Authors: Jonsdottir, Olof H, Thorsdottir, Inga, Gunnlaugsson, Geir, Fewtrell, Mary S, Hibberd, Patricia L, Kleinman, Ronald E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Babies
Behavior
Breast Feeding
Breastfeeding & lactation
Child Behavior
Child Development
Child, Preschool
Clinical trials
complementary feeding
developmental status
early childhood
exclusive breastfeeding
Female
Food
Humans
Infant
Infant Food
Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Male
Milk, Human
Motor Skills
Nutrition research
Parents & parenting
Questionnaires
randomized trial
Time Factors
Weaning
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Summary:Breastfeeding during infancy may have beneficial effects on various developmental outcomes in childhood. In this study, exclusively breastfed infants were randomly assigned to receive complementary foods from the age of 4 months in addition to breast milk (CF, n = 60), or to exclusively breastfeed to 6 months (EBF, n = 59). At 18 months and again at 30-35 months of age, the children were evaluated with the Parent's Evaluation of Developmental Status questionnaire (PEDS) and the Brigance Screens-II. The parents completed the PEDS questionnaire at both time intervals and the children underwent the Brigance Screens-II at 30-35 months. At 30-35 months, no significant differences were seen in developmental scores from the Brigance screening test (p = 0.82). However, at 30-35 months a smaller percentage of parents in group CF (2%) had concerns about their children's gross motor development compared to those in group EBF (19%; p = 0.01), which remained significant when adjusted for differences in pre-randomization characteristics (p = 0.03). No sustained effect of a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding was seen on selected measures of developmental and behavioral status at 18 months, although at 30-35 months, a smaller percentage of parents of children introduced to complementary foods at four months of age expressed concerns about their gross motor development.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu5114414