Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable
09:24

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable

Published on: May 17, 2024

2.2K

Breastfeeding and motor development in term and preterm infants in a longitudinal US cohort

Kara A Michels1, Akhgar Ghassabian1, Sunni L Mumford1

  • 1Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|November 3, 2017
PubMed

Insights

This study found that introducing solids alongside breastfeeding in term infants did not significantly impact motor development milestones like standing or walking. Early infant feeding practices appear to have minimal long-term effects on motor skill acquisition.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Infant Nutrition

Background:

  • Previous studies on breastfeeding and motor development are limited by confounding factors, retrospective data, and early assessment of motor skills.
  • Accurate characterization of the relationship between infant feeding and early motor development requires robust study designs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between infant feeding methods and the achievement of major motor milestones in a US-based cohort.
  • To provide reliable data on infant feeding and motor development, addressing limitations of prior research.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Upstate New York Infant Development Screening Program (Upstate KIDS Study) with 4270 infants.
  • Collected infant feeding information at 4 months postpartum and motor development data at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months.
  • Employed accelerated failure time models, adjusting for covariates and stratifying by preterm birth status, to analyze time to standing and walking.

Main Results:

  • Term infants introduced to solids with breast milk showed a trend towards faster achievement of standing and walking, but this was not statistically significant after multiple testing correction.
  • Exclusive breastfeeding prevalence was lower in preterm infants (8%) compared to term infants (19%) at 4 months.
  • No significant feeding-associated differences in motor milestone achievement were observed in preterm infants.

Conclusions:

  • Infant feeding practices, including the introduction of solids, are unlikely to cause substantial differences in the timing of major motor development.
  • The findings suggest that motor development is influenced by a complex interplay of factors beyond infant feeding.
  • The Upstate KIDS Study provides valuable longitudinal data on infant development and feeding.

Keywords:
breastfeedinginfant formulainfant nutritional physiological phenomenalongitudinal studiesmotor skillspremature birth

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Implications of Non-Nutritive Sucking on Speech Emergence and Infant Development06:19

Author Spotlight: Implications of Non-Nutritive Sucking on Speech Emergence and Infant Development

Published on: April 19, 2024

1.4K
A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect05:04

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

Published on: September 22, 2023

1.1K

Related Concept Videos

Longitudinal Research02:20

Longitudinal Research

Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
13.5K
Drug Dosing: Infants and Children01:29

Drug Dosing: Infants and Children

Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...
344
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
664
Longitudinal Studies01:26

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
554
Teratogenicity01:07

Teratogenicity

The ability of a drug to produce structural deformations and functional abnormalities in the developing embryo or the fetus is called teratogenicity, and the drug producing this effect is known as a teratogen. Teratogenic effects include stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction, and neurocognitive delay. A teratogen may affect the embryo at different stages of development, which is important in determining the type and extent of the damage. During blastocyst formation, the early...
4.3K