Related Experiment Videos
Brief report: breast-fed one-week-olds demonstrate superior neurobehavioral organization
Sybil Hart1, L Mallory Boylan, Sebrina Carroll
1Texas Tech University, Department of Pediatrics, Texas 79409-1162, USA. sybil.hart@ttu.edu
Insights
Breast-feeding benefits one-week-old infants' neurobehavioral organization compared to formula-feeding. This advantage was observed across infants born to both adolescent and adult mothers.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal neurobehavioral development
- Infant feeding practices
Background:
- Previous research focused on immediate newborn stage.
- Limited data on neurobehavioral functioning at one week of age by feeding method.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate neurobehavioral differences in one-week-old infants based on feeding method (breast vs. formula).
- Examine if feeding method effects vary between infants of adolescent and adult mothers.
Main Methods:
- Study included 83 infants (41 breast-fed, 42 formula-fed).
- Infants assessed at approximately 9 days of age using the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS).
- Participant groups included infants of adolescent and adult mothers.
Main Results:
- Breast-fed infants showed superior performance on orientation, motor, state, and regulation dimensions of the BNBAS.
- Breast-fed infants had fewer abnormal reflexes, signs of depression, and withdrawal.
- No significant differences were found between infants of adolescent and adult mothers regarding feeding method effects.
Conclusions:
- Breast-feeding is advantageous for neonatal neurobehavioral organization.
- Findings support the benefits of breast-feeding for infant development.
Objectives:
Following studies conducted during the immediate newborn stage, we investigated whether one-week-olds' neurobehavioral functioning was differentiated by feeding method. We also examined whether feeding-method effects differed among infants of adolescent mothers.
Method:
Participants were infants (N = 83) of breast-feeding (N = 41) and formula-feeding (N = 42) mothers. Approximately half of each group's participants had adolescent mothers and half were infants of adult mothers. Assessments on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS) were conducted on the infants when they were 8.95 days of age.
Results:
Breast-fed infants surpassed formula-fed infants on items of the orientation, motor, range of state, and state regulation dimensions of the BNBAS. Breast-fed infants also exhibited fewer abnormal reflexes, signs of depression, and withdrawal. Infants of adolescent mothers did not differ from those of adult mothers, regardless of feeding method.
Conclusion:
These data provide compelling evidence that breast-feeding is advantageous to neonates' neurobehavioral organization.