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Infant feeding and mental and motor development at 18 months of age in first born singletons
C D Florey1, A M Leech, A Blackhall
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK.
Insights
Breastfeeding is associated with higher infant mental development scores at 18 months. This study found a significant link between breastfeeding and cognitive outcomes, highlighting its importance for child development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Infant feeding practices are crucial for child development.
- Previous research suggests potential links between feeding type and cognitive outcomes.
- Confounding variables may influence observed associations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between infant feeding type and mental/psychomotor development at 18 months.
- To control for potential confounding factors in this association.
Main Methods:
- Follow-up study of 846 first-born singletons.
- Developmental assessment at 18 months using Bayley Scales of Infant Mental and Motor Development.
- Statistical analysis adjusted for social class, maternal education, and birth characteristics.
Main Results:
- Higher mental development scores were significantly associated with breastfeeding.
- Adjusted differences in mental development index between breast and bottle-fed infants ranged from 3.7 to 5.7 units.
- No significant differences were observed in psychomotor development or behavior.
Conclusions:
- Provides evidence for a robust association between breastfeeding and child intelligence.
- Recommends further research, including randomized controlled trials and epidemiological studies, to clarify causality.
- Emphasizes the need to disentangle feeding method, parental intelligence, and social environment influences.
Objective:
To determine the relationship between type of infant feeding and mental and psychomotor development at age 18 months.
Method:
A follow-up study of children born to primigravidae living in Dundee and booked into antenatal clinics in the City of Dundee (Local Authority District) from 1 May 1985 to 30 April 1986. The study population was 846 first born singletons, of whom 592 attended for developmental assessment at age 18 months. The main outcome measures were the Bayley Scales of Infant Mental and Motor Development.
Results:
Higher mental development was significantly related to breast feeding on discharge from hospital and according to the health visitors' notes at about 2 weeks after discharge after allowing for partner's social class, mother's education, height, alcohol and cigarette consumption; placental weight and the child's sex, birth weight and gestational age at birth. After adjustment for statistically significant variables, the difference in Bayley mental development index between breast and bottle fed infants was between 3.7 and 5.7 units depending on the source of feeding data. No differences were found for psychomotor development or behaviour.
Conclusion:
The study provides further evidence of a robust statistical association between type of feeding and child intelligence. However, the literature is replete with suggestions for potential confounding variables which offer alternative causal explanations. To unravel what is an important clinical and public health question, further research should concentrate on randomized trials of supplemented formula feeds for children of mothers opting for bottle feeding and on epidemiological studies designed to disentangle the relation between method of feeding, parental intelligence and social environment.