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Influence of breast-feeding on the infant's intellectual development
M C Temboury1, A Otero, I Polanco
1Primary Care Center of Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain.
Insights
Breast-feeding positively impacts infant intellectual development. Bottle-fed infants showed lower cognitive and motor scores, suggesting breast milk benefits early childhood development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Nutrition
Background:
- Infant feeding practices significantly influence child development.
- Understanding the long-term effects of breast-feeding versus bottle-feeding is crucial for public health.
- Socioeconomic and environmental factors can confound the relationship between infant feeding and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between breast-feeding and intellectual development in infants.
- To control for confounding variables such as socioeconomic status and maternal education.
- To assess the impact of feeding method on psychomotor development up to two years of age.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 229 healthy infants from birth to 2 years.
- Infants categorized into breast-fed (n=130) and bottle-fed (n=99) groups.
- Bayley Scales of Infant Development used to measure psychomotor development between 18 and 29 months.
Main Results:
- Bottle-fed infants scored lower on the Index of Mental Development.
- Lower socioeconomic status, lower maternal education, and having siblings were associated with lower mental development scores.
- Lower socioeconomic status was the only factor associated with lower motor development scores.
Conclusions:
- Breast-feeding is linked to enhanced intellectual development in infants.
- Socioeconomic factors play a significant role in both mental and motor development.
- Early childhood interventions should consider nutritional and socioeconomic support for optimal development.
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of breast-feeding on the intellectual development of the infant, controlling for possible confounding factors. A prospective study of cohorts was carried out in a group of 229 healthy infants, studied from birth to 2 years of age. The infants were divided into two groups: group 1, 99 infants who were bottle-fed; and group 0, 130 who were breast-fed. All other characteristics in both groups were similar. Psychomotor development was measured between 18 and 29 months using the Bayley scales. Lower results on the Index of Mental Development were associated with bottle-fed infants, lower-middle and lower social class, elementary education of the mother, temper tantrums, and having siblings. Lower results on the Index of Motor Development were associated only with lower and lower-middle social class.