It’s too early to tell if the benefits come from breastmilk itself or the skin-to-skin contact from breastfeeding, but a study of over 10,000 children in the UK has shown that formula fed children are twice as likely to develop behavioural problems later in life.
As the Daily Mail reports
When other influences are taken into account, such as social and economic background, the reduction in the risk of behavioural problems at age five brought about by breastfeeding is 30 per cent, according to the Oxford University study
The Millenium Cohort study indicates that in infants born at term, the impact is easily measured. Infants breastfed for four months or longer are much less likely to exhibit behavioural problems at age five years than their formula-fed counterparts. For pre-term infants, there is a correlation between longer duration of breastfeeding and lower odds of behavioural problems, but estimates of the effect were imprecise.
Does breastmilk contain a secret ingredient that formula makers haven’t been able to replicate, or is it the close contact between a nursing mom and her baby that causes this effect? It will take more research to answer that question. But it certainly looks as though increased risk of behavioural disorders is yet another risk to add to the long list of risks and detrimental effects of formula feeding.
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