Breastfeeding Tied To Fewer Kid Behavior Problems

Breastfeeding tied to fewer kid behavior problems

2008-10-29
By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Breastfeeding may have a positive
influence on behavior in early childhood, according to results of a
study presented Wednesday at the American Public Health Association's
annual meeting in San Diego.

In the study, parents of 1- to 5-year-old children who were breastfed
as infants were 15 percent less likely to report concern for the
child's behavior than parents of kids who were not breastfed.

In addition, breastfed children were 37 percent less likely to have
doctor-diagnosed behavior or conduct problems or to have received
mental health care.

The findings -- based on more than 100,000 interviews with parents or
guardians on the health of their children conducted as part of the
2003 National Survey of Children's Health -- also support studies that
have showed that breastfeeding enhances intellectual ability in
children.

Specifically, parents of breastfed children were 23 percent less apt
to report concern about their child's ability to learn, according to
study presenter and lead researcher Dr. Katherine Hobbs Knutson from
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

"Although correlations between breastfeeding and childhood cognition
are well supported by research, our findings provide new evidence for
a lesser understood issue of whether breastfeeding may also influence
childhood emotional development," Knutson told Reuters Health.

"Our research is promising, indicating that human milk may be
protective against childhood behavioral disorders," she concluded.


http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2008/10/29/eline/links/20081029elin001.html