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Breastfeeding isn't always easy. In fact, for some women it can be one of the most difficult and stressful challenges of coping with a newborn. But mounting evidence suggests that it's a challenge worth facing, and that resources aimed at helping women breastfeed for longer could be beneficial for children well past their babyhood. As Reuters reports, the latest study to underscore the importance of breastfeeding has found that babies who are breastfed for longer than six months could be at lower risk for mental health problems in later life.
The study was conducted by the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in West Perth, Australia. It followed 2,366 newborns, who then had mental health assessments when they were 2, 5, 8, 10, and 14 years old. At each assessment, researchers found that children who had been breastfed for shorter amounts of time had worse behaviour. They were more likely to suffer from problems like depression and aggression. In fact, for each additional month a child was breastfed, their behaviour improved.
The study's authors noted that breastfeeding could help babies cope better with stress and may signal a stronger mother-child bond, and that these effects could last well into adolescence. The mothers who breastfed for less than six months were younger, less educated, poorer and more stressed than the mothers who breastfed longer. They were also more likely to suffer from post-partum depression. Researchers concluded that "interventions aimed at increasing breastfeeding duration could be of long-term benefit for child and adolescent mental health."
Fortunately, there are some great resources for Canadian moms who are looking for breastfeeding help.
- The La Leche League Canada website will help you find breastfeeding support in your area, and connect you with other breastfeeding moms. They recommend the book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (written by La Leche International) for mothers seeking information and inspiration.
- The Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute, located in Toronto and operated by longtime breastfeeding guru Dr. Jack Newman, has a website that addresses a host of breastfeeding issues, from latching to blocked ducts to sore nipples. They even offer a "Tips and Techniques" video online. As well, Dr. Jack Newman's Guide To Breastfeeding is a comprehensive resource book that bills itself as "every mother's personal lactation consultant."
- Multiple Births Canada offers a Breastfeeding Support Network for mothers who want to breastfeed their twins, triplets or higher-order multiples, including a monthly newsletter called "The Milky Way."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2010 @ 6:54PM
Jess said...Out of idle curiosity, how do they know it's the breastfeeding providing the benefits and not the education, maturity and economic status of moms who tend to breastfeed longer?
As it says, "The mothers who breastfed for less than six months were younger, less educated, poorer and more stressed than the mothers who breastfed longer." Is it possible that is the root cause of the mental health problems and not the lack of breast feeding?
If a young, poor, uneducated, stressed out mom breastfeeds for a year and has a child with mental health problems, what is the cause then?
Reply
1-16-2010 @ 2:54PM
Terry Alexis said...Those are the questions which immediately occured to me as well. The research is full of holes. Breast feeding longer is easier to fix than economic status, level of education or stress level...which unto themselves are inter-related as well. Researchers sometimes make the fix look simple...life isn't that way...is it.
1-16-2010 @ 4:39AM
aubergine said...This is so much garbage......ladies...........breast feed if you can....for 3 months, maybe as long as 6......then pack it in. I am so sick of this breast feeding crap!!!! I breast fed one of my daughters and not the other.....they are totally equal when it comes to intelligence and sociability, and in every other way. Personally, I felt 'forced' into breast feeding, and if I were to have another, I definitely would 'not' breast feed. It's JUST NOT FOR EVERYONE.....like it or not, it just isn't!!!!!!!! Do your own thing, moms, your kids will turn out just fine as long as they have love and discipline.
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1-16-2010 @ 11:43AM
clayjay said...It's unfortunate that you did not enjoy the experience aubergine, but more unfortunate that you thought it was all about you. Don't have children if you can't be "put out" for 18 years or more. There are so many blessing and benefits along the way, but if you're not prepared to do what's best for your child, for now and for the rest of their lives, don't have them.
"Do your own thing, moms, your kids will turn out just fine as long as they have love and discipline..." Yeah, smoke, drink and feed your babies chemicals out of bottles, it's all good if you're happy... NOT!
1-16-2010 @ 10:07AM
ebonypearl said...It upsets me when this agenda is pushed to so hard that the physical needs and requirements of the babies are sometimes neglected. I know a few moms who were so determined to nurse, that they were starving their babies and their doctors had to tell them to stop nursing or they were going to lose their babies. I had three children, I tried nursing two of them and one I didn't nurse at all. It didn't work for me, I didn't have enough milk and both the baby and myself were suffering, I was less stressed and my babies were more contented when I was bottle feeding. I was also bombarded with stories of all of the dire consequences of low intellegence etc., my children are all in their late teens and early twenties, and the one that was never nursed did better all through school than the other two.
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1-16-2010 @ 7:43PM
gravelletimes4 said...Should a baby be breast fed? Of course,and in an ideal situation,all babies would be.I dont think anyone could argue breastfeedings benefits. Having said that,breastfeeding does not automatically create super intelligent,well rounded, technicality savvy,empathetic children. A child's whole environment helps shape a child.
And for those of us,like myself who were unable to breastfeed,or for those who chose not to,I'm sure you agree that you still have a strong "mother-baby" attachment,and that your children aren't sitting in a corner all day wondering how to face the world. My bottle fed son is on his way to graduating high school with honours and trying to decide which University (out of the many he was accepted to,all with bursary) he should attend. His sister is on the same track.
Breast feeding may be best,but painting all who don't with a wide "bad mother" brush is wrong. I have taught my children that peoples choices are their own.We do not have to agree,but we should generally be respectful.
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1-16-2010 @ 10:57PM
sophie said...wow, this article has gotten some fairly aggressive responses. While I agree that not everyone has had a positive experience with breastfeeding, and that a small percentage are unable due to health problems (such as thalassemia or other such things), I do believe that breastfeeding is the best for a child. Look at it logically. Each mammal is designed to give their young exacly what they need for optimal health. It has been proven that human milk includes a wide variety of antibodies and nutrients that can't be reproduced artifically. It has been proven that it's fat and nutrient content is ever changing as the needs of the growing infant change. Even during a feeding it is proven that the fat content changes so that the belly is filled and then the thirst quenched. Studies have also shown less child obesity from children who breastfeed as well as a lessening of adult obesity. With all of this proven information, as well as the logic that nature knows what we need best, how can anyone argue that man made formula is equal in any way to breast milk? Don't feel guilty if you were not able because of medical reason, but also don't be obsurd by saying it does not make a difference. It's like saying that a cat could survive on a soy diet. It may live, but it won't thrive to its full potential.
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1-17-2010 @ 3:10PM
Wayne said...Sophie, You hit the nail right on the head when it comes to breastfeeding! Nothing can compare to mothers breast-milk.
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