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Updated: Jun 8, 2025

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Breastfeeding and Children's Cognitive Development up to the Age of 4 Years: The Japan Environment and Children's

Toshie Nishigori1,2, Hidekazu Nishigori1,3, Taeko Suzuki1,3,4

  • 1Fukushima Regional Center for the Japan Environment and Children's Study, Fukushima, Japan.

Breastfeeding Medicine : the Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
|November 8, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Exclusive breastfeeding for six months benefits cognitive development, particularly in girls. Partial breastfeeding shows no disadvantage compared to exclusive breastfeeding for children

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Breastfeeding duration is linked to cognitive development benefits in children.
  • The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) is a nationwide prospective birth cohort study.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the relationship between infant feeding methods and cognitive development at ages 2 and 4 years.
  • To compare cognitive development outcomes across exclusive breastfeeding, partial breastfeeding, and formula-feeding groups.

Main Methods:

  • Classified feeding methods in the first 6 months postpartum: exclusive breastfeeding, partial breastfeeding, formula-fed, and others.
  • Assessed cognitive development using the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001.
  • Analyzed data from 1,329 boys and 1,398 girls using multiple regression analysis.

Main Results:

  • Two-year-old boys exclusively formula-fed had lower language-social developmental quotients (DQs).
  • Girls at ages 2 and 4 exclusively formula-fed showed significantly lower L-S DQs compared to the exclusive breastfeeding group.
  • Partial breastfeeding showed no significant disadvantage in L-S DQs for boys or girls at ages 2 and 4.

Conclusions:

  • Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months may enhance verbal cognitive development in 4-year-old girls.
  • Partial breastfeeding (breast milk and formula) in the first 6 months does not appear to negatively impact cognitive development compared to exclusive breastfeeding.

Keywords:
2-year-old children4-year-old childrenbreastfeedingdevelopmental quotientformula

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