by Aimee Keenan-Greene

Breastfeeding a baby may pay off down the road with a better behaved kindergartner.

Scientists analyzed data from a large, prospective, nationally representative UK cohort, the Millennium Cohort Study. There were over ten-thousand mother–child pairs from white ethnic backgrounds (9525 term and 512 pre-term children). The results were just published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The duration of breast feeding (at all or exclusively) was ascertained from parental interview at study baseline when the children were 9 months old. 

Child behavior was assessed using a parent-completed questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The authors used logistic regression to investigate the associations of breastfeeding duration with abnormal parent-rated SDQ total and subscores at age 5, typically when kids start school,  in full term and pre-term children separately.

Only 1129 out of 9525, or 12 percent, of term children had abnormal SDQ scores.

In pre-term children 78 out of 512, or 15 percent, had abnormal SDQ scores.

Term children breast fed for 4 months or longer (2741 out of 9525, or 29 percent)  had lower odds of an abnormal total SDQ score. 

In pre-term children, longer duration of breast feeding was generally associated with lower odds of abnormal SDQ totals.

These findings suggest, especially  in children born at term, a longer duration of breast feeding is associated with fewer parent-rated behavioural problems in children aged 5 years. 

Katriina Heikkilä, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, along with researchers Amanda Sacker, Yvonne Kelly, Mary J Renfrew, and Maria A Quigley completed the review.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recomends infants be exclusively breastfed for approximately the first six months of life and continue for at least twelve months and thereafter as long as mutually desired by the mother and child.

The AAP also recommends all children, including infants, get 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, an amount that is not possible to get from breast milk alone. Supplements are encouraged.