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Does breastfeeding improve a baby's life chances?

Never a week seems to go by without another piece of research pointing to the health and wellbeing benefits of breastfeeding on babies.

From reduced incidence of obesity to better cognitive development, breastfeeding is hailed as the very best start for babies in many developmental ways.

But of huge importance is new research that has looked at the exact relationship between breastfeeding and positive outcomes: does breastfeeding cause improved health and cognitive outcomes independently of external factors such as social class, education and attitudes?

[See also: Breastfeeding in public: is it right or wrong?]


Researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex have been investigating just this, drawing on data from Unicef’s Baby Friendly Initiative Programme (BFI) among other studies.

Overall, their research points to breastfeeding having positive effects independent of social class, home environment etc. The researchers argue that breastfeeding may well be an important way to help reduce inequality.

But the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding is very important with the research pointing to only four months or longer offering any substantial benefit.

Among the separate areas the ISER researchers looked at, they found that mothers giving birth in BFI hospitals were 14.6 per cent more likely to start breastfeeding and 6.6 per cent more likely to exclusively breastfeed at four weeks of age, compared to mothers in similar hospitals. These effects were stronger for less educated and socially disadvantaged mothers.

The BFI programme in the UK analysed the effects of breastfeeding in conditions that closely mimic a randomised study as it is based on women attending BFI accredited hospitals which accounted for about five per cent of UK hospitals in 2001.

Based on data from the Millennium Cohort Study, it was found that while breastfeeding exclusively at four weeks reduces the probability that the child will be overweight at the age of three, it increases the likeliehood they will suffer from asthma and wheezing at five and seven years old. All other health effects were found to be not statistically different.

Other aspects of the research looked at the impact of breastfeeding on infant health in terms of diarrhoea and lower respiratory tract infections. It found that exclusive breastfeeding does protect against hospitalisation for these conditions but the effects were lower for partial breastfeeding.

An estimated 53 per cent of children admitted to hospital with diarrhoea could have been prevented each month by exclusive breastfeeding and 31 per cent by partial breastfeeding.

The effect of breastfeeding on lower respiratory tract infections was also relevant although lower than for diarrhoea. As soon as breastfeeding stops its protective effect ceases too.

Related Content: Is breast really best? - Watch as Val Finigan, a professional breastfeeding consultant, discusses whether breast milk really is the healthiest option for your baby.
When investigating the link between child’s behaviour and breastfeeding the study found that — at least in full term children — breastfeeding for longer (four months and more) was associated with fewer parent-rated behavioural problems at the age of five.

And the lower risk of full term breastfed babies having abnormal scores for behaviour remained, even when socio-economic and parental factors were taken into consideration.

One possible reason for this is that breast milk contains large amounts of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, growth factors and hormones which are known to be important in the brain’s development and function.

But breastfeeding also creates interaction between the mother and baby which may affect how the baby learns about accepted behaviour.

The research also found that breastfeeding had a small effect on a child’s cognitive outcomes.

Children breastfed for four weeks or more do better than those breastfed for less than four weeks about three IQ points in difference. The effects were found in maths, English and science scores up until the age of about 14.

In the UK, the trend has been that more affluent mothers are more likely to breastfeed their babies than women from lower socio-economic groups and the Department of Health has supported a number of initiatives designed to increase the uptake of breastfeeding among more disadvantaged women.

While there has been some improvement breastfeeding rates in the UK are generally low: 35 per cent of babies are exclusively breastfed at one week old, 21 per cent at six weeks and it drops to just seven per cent at four months old. By six months of age only three per cent of babies are exclusively breastfed.

The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and the continuation of breastfeeding alongside solid foods for two years.

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