Babies who are breastfed during their first 6 weeks are one-fifth less likely to have special educational needs or behavioral problems, study shows
Children who are breastfed for the first six weeks of life are less likely to have special educational needs or behavioral problems, a study found.
Babies who were exclusively breastfed or fed a mixture of formula and breast milk for the first six to eight weeks were about one-fifth less likely to develop special educational needs (SEN) than formula-fed babies.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow looked at the health and education data of 191,745 children born in Scotland from 2004 who also attended a state or SEN school between 2009 and 2013.
Of the children enrolled in the study, 66.2 percent of children received formula, 25.3 percent breastfed, and only 8.5 percent mixed foods during the first six to eight weeks.
Babies who were exclusively breastfed or fed a mixture of formula and breast milk for the first six to eight weeks were about a fifth less likely to develop special educational needs (SEN) than formula-fed babies
Overall, 12.1 percent of the children in this study had SEN.
However, compared to bottle-feeding, a history of mixed-feeding early in life and exclusive breastfeeding were both associated with a decrease in the risk of having SEN—about 10 and 20 percent less likely, respectively.
Children who were exclusively breastfed were about a fifth less likely to have emotional or behavioral problems and a quarter less likely to have physical health problems.
The findings suggest that having breast milk in the first few weeks of life may help reduce the risk of having SEN, or the learning disabilities and difficulties that often cause it.
Dr. Michael Fleming, who led the study, said: ‘We know that many women struggle to exclusively breastfeed for the full six months recommended by the WHO.
‘However, our research provides evidence that a shorter duration of non-exclusive breastfeeding may nevertheless be beneficial for a child’s learning development.
‘The results of this study suggest that childhood feeding practice may be a modifiable risk factor for causes of special educational needs, which in turn has the potential to help reduce the burden on affected children, their families and wider society. ‘
Breastfeeding has numerous health benefits, reducing the risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease in mothers and protecting the baby against infections while providing ideal nutrition for growth and development.
Yet Britain has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, with less than half of mothers (48 per cent) continuing beyond six to eight weeks.
But this study, reported in Plos Medicine, suggests that even this is enough to give the baby an advantage.
The authors acknowledged that factors such as social class and maternal education were not taken into account and that further research is needed.
Dr. Danya Glaser, an honorary consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, who was not involved in the study, said: “There may be factors other than not breastfeeding related to special educational needs, such as a low social status. economic status.
‘There is also a link between not breastfeeding and a low socio-economic status. This study did not check sufficiently for this.’