Breastfeeding leads to fewer behavioural problems, says new research

Children who have been breastfed as babies are less likely to have behavioural problems than those fed only on formula, according to research published today.

A large-scale study has shown that five-year-olds who had been breastfed for at least four months had fewer behavioural problems; this was still the case even when other factors, such as socio-economic circumstances, were taken into account. Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, the researchers suggest that this could be because breast milk contains certain substances which have only recently started to be added to formula feeds. These include essential long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, growth factors and hormones which have an important role in the development and function of the brain and central nervous system. The authors say that the results could also be explained by the fact that breastfeeding leads to more interaction between mother and child, better learning of acceptable behaviours and fewer behavioural problems. The researchers, from the universities of Oxford, Essex and York, and University College London, used data from a large UK study known as the Millennium Cohort Study involving 10,037 mother–child pairs from a white ethnic background. The Millennium study is a survey of infants born in the UK during a 12-month period in 2000–01. People who took part were interviewed when their child was nine months old and they were revisited at two-yearly intervals. Within the data group studied by the researchers, there were 9,525 full-term and 512 pre-term children. Using a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by the parents, they scored children to identify potential behavioural problems, including emotional (such as clinginess, anxiety), hyperactivity (restlessness), and conduct (lying and stealing), by the time the child was aged five. Results showed that 29 per cent of children born at full term and 21 per cent of children born prematurely were breastfed for at least four months. Abnormal scores for the questionnaires (which indicate potential behavioural problems), were less common in children breastfed for at least four months (6 per cent) than in formula-fed children (16 per cent). Importantly, the effect persisted even when socio-economic and parental factors were taken into account. The authors conclude: “Our findings suggest that longer duration of breastfeeding (at all or exclusively) is associated with having fewer parent-rated behavioural problems in term children.” Although manufacturers of formula milk have now added many of the substances found in breast milk the effectiveness of such supplementation is unclear, the authors add.

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