Breastfeeding duration
months
Months of breastfeeding after birth, exclusive or any. It is a postnatal feeding practice, not famine in the womb or a later diet score.
The papers ask how long a child was breastfed, or whether feeding was exclusive for a stretch. Prenatal famine is an intrauterine date. Antiepileptic drugs in milk are a different exposure. A diet-quality score in children born very small is not months of milk.
Also called exclusive breastfeeding, full breastfeeding, lactation duration, breast milk duration, any breastfeeding.
Connected relationships
Observational · Low
Breastfeeding duration→Cognitive performance
Higher Breastfeeding duration increases Cognitive performance.
In three European birth cohorts, longer breastfeeding tracked with higher child IQ on crude models. After maternal IQ, education, and class, Generation R's 0.32 IQ points per month fell to 0.09 and crossed zero. Sabadell's full breastfeeding past six months still sat 7.4 McCarthy points higher. Nobody randomized the feed.
Sources
- A Sajjad et al. (2016). Breastfeeding duration and non-verbal IQ in children.
- J Julvez et al. (2014). A cohort study on full breastfeeding and child neuropsychological development: the role of maternal social, psychological, and nutritional factors.
- JY Bernard et al. (2017). Breastfeeding, Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in Colostrum and Child Intelligence Quotient at Age 5-6 Years.