That’s according to a study by Dr. Katherine Hobbs Knutson, of the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and her team of researchers.
The study analyzed 100,000 interviews with parents and nannies, aged between 10 months and 18 years. Parents of breastfed infants were 15% less likely to worry about their infant’s behavior, compared to infants who were fed milk powder. In addition, the former were 37% less likely to have a behavioral medical problem. In addition, the likelihood of health problems would decrease in proportion to the duration of breastfeeding: a baby who was breastfed for one year was less likely to develop health problems than a baby who was breastfed for only two months. .
Previous studies have shown the benefits of breastfeeding, both for the baby and for the mother. Breast milk “protects the baby against ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, and viral and bacterial diseases. Research has also linked breastfeeding to a reduced risk of obesity, diabetes and some cancers.” , according to the American Academy of Pediatricians.
As for the mother, breastfeeding helps “to restore the uterus to its pre-pregnancy shape faster, and to burn the extra calories, to lose some of the weight gained during pregnancy. In addition, it helps to nurture the emotional bond between baby and mother “.
Dr. Debra Brogen, pediatrician at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, concludes that “the results are interesting, and support the idea that, if possible, the mother should offer breast milk to the baby.”
