About
Babies
New study shows
long term mental health benefits from extended breastfeeding
Telethon
Institute for Child Health Research
14 January, 2010
A new
study from Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has
shown that children who are breastfed for longer than six months
have a lower risk of mental health problems as they enter their teen
years.
The research, led by Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, will be
published in the next edition of The Journal of Pediatrics.
Dr. Oddy said breastfeeding for a longer duration appears to have
significant benefits for the mental health of the child into
adolescence.
"There has been much evidence about the benefits of early
breastfeeding, but the importance of this study is that it shows
continued benefits from extended feeding,” Dr Oddy said.
“Given the rising prevalence of mental health problems,
interventions to assist mothers to breastfeed, and to breastfeed for
longer, could be of long term benefit to the community.
“As with any of these types of studies, it should be stressed that
the findings do not mean that individual children that weren’t
breastfed will have mental health problems, it’s about lowering the
risk at a population level."
The research team analyzed data from more than 2000 children
involved in Western Australia’s Raine Study. Just over half were
breastfed for six months or longer, 38% percent were breastfed for
less than six months, eleven percent were not breastfed. The
participants underwent a mental health assessment when they were 2,
5, 8, 10, and 14 years old.
At each of the assessments, the researcher team found a link between
breastfeeding duration and behaviour. For each additional month of
breastfeeding, the behaviour score improved. This remained valid
after adjustment for socio-economic, social and other factors
impacting on parenting.
Dr. Oddy said breastfeeding could help babies cope better with
stress.
“There are a number of ways extended breastfeeding could assist
child development. We know that breast milk is packed full of
nutrients that help with the rapid brain development that occurs in
the early years. It might also signal a strong mother-child
attachment and these benefits may last.”
The Long-Term Effects of Breastfeeding on Child and Adolescent
Mental Health: A Pregnancy Cohort Study Followed for 14 Years, Wendy
H. Oddy, PhD, Garth E. Kendall, PhD, Jianghong Li, PhD, Peter
Jacoby, MSc, Monique Robinson, BA (Hons) Psych,Nicholas H. de Klerk,
PhD, Sven R. Silburn, MSc, Stephen R. Zubrick, PhD, Louis I. Landau,
MD, and Fiona J. Stanley, MD, The Journal of Pediatrics, published
online Dec 14, 2009.
About the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
Based in Perth, Western Australia, the Institute has more than 450
staff dedicated to improving child health and wellbeing. Established
in 1990, it has forged an international reputation for excellence in
research in fields including childhood cancers, asthma and
allergies, mental health, birth defects, child development,
infectious disease and Aboriginal child health. More information is
available at www.childhealthresearch.com.au
About the Raine Study
The Raine Study is jointly conducted by the Telethon Institute for
Child Health Research and The School of Women’s and Infant’s Health
at the University of Western Australia. The study started in 1989,
when 2900 pregnant women were recruited into a research study at
King Edward Memorial Hospital to examine ultrasound imaging. The
mothers were assessed at 18 weeks of pregnancy, again during
pregnancy and at birth. Information was collected on the mother and
the father, for example diet, exercise, work, health, etc. The
research team at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
have assessed the children at birth, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14 and 17
years of age. At each follow-up, information is collected from the
parents and the child. Find out more at
www.rainestudy.org.au
view the Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
here
'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them
from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and The one who labors with child, together,
A
great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
Jeremiah 31:8, 14~~~
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August 2010
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