Journal article

Breastfeeding and early child development: a prospective cohort study

Wendy H Oddy, Monique Robinson, Garth E Kendall, Jianghong Li, Stephen R Zubrick, Fiona J Stanley

ACTA PAEDIATRICA | WILEY | Published : 2011

Abstract

AIM: Breastfeeding has been associated with multiple developmental advantages for the infant; however, there have also been a number of studies that find no significant benefits to child development. We examined the relationship between breastfeeding for 4 months or longer and child development at age 1, 2 and 3 years. METHODS: Women were enrolled in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (N = 2900) and their live born children (N = 2868) were followed to the age of 3 years (N = 2280). Infant feeding data were collected at each age, and the mothers completed the Infant/Child Monitoring Questionnaire (IMQ), which measures progress towards developmental milestones in the domains..

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Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Professor Nicholas de Klerk for his statistical advice on this study. We are extremely grateful to the Raine Study participants and their families, the Raine Study Team for cohort co-ordination and data collection, the NH&MRC for their long-term contribution to funding the study over the last 20 years and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research for long-term support of the Study. We also acknowledge The University of Western Australia (UWA), the Raine Medical Research Foundation, the UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and the Women and Infants Research Foundation.