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American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Breastfeeding, Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Colostrum, and Infant Mental Development

Mònica Guxens, Michelle A. Mendez, Carolina Moltó-Puigmartí, Jordi Julvez, Raquel García-Esteban, Joan Forns, Muriel Ferrer, Martine Vrijheid, M. Carmen López-Sabater and Jordi Sunyer
Pediatrics October 2011, 128 (4) e880-e889; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1633
Mònica Guxens
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Michelle A. Mendez
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Carolina Moltó-Puigmartí
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Jordi Julvez
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Raquel García-Esteban
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Joan Forns
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Muriel Ferrer
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Martine Vrijheid
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M. Carmen López-Sabater
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Jordi Sunyer
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding has been associated with improved neurodevelopment in children. However, it remains unknown to what extent nutritional advantages of breast milk may explain this relationship.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the role of parental psychosocial factors and colostrum long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) levels in the relationship between breastfeeding and children's neurodevelopment.

METHODS: A population-based birth cohort was established in the city of Sabadell (Catalonia, Spain) as part of the INMA-INfancia y Medio Ambiente Project. A total of 657 women were recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy. Information about parental characteristics and breastfeeding was obtained by using a questionnaire, and trained psychologists assessed mental and psychomotor development by using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development in 504 children at 14 months of age.

RESULTS: A high percentage of breastfeeds among all milk feeds accumulated during the first 14 months was positively related with child mental development (0.37 points per month of full breastfeeding [95% confidence interval: 0.06–0.67]). Maternal education, social class, and intelligence quotient only partly explained this association. Children with a longer duration of breastfeeding also exposed to higher ratios between n-3 and n-6 PUFAs in colostrum had significantly higher mental scores than children with low breastfeeding duration exposed to low levels.

CONCLUSIONS: Greater levels of accumulated breastfeeding during the first year of life were related to higher mental development at 14 months, largely independently from a wide range of parental psychosocial factors. LC-PUFA levels seem to play a beneficial role in children's mental development when breastfeeding levels are high.

  • child development
  • cognition
  • breastfeeding
  • fatty acids
  • unsaturated
  • intelligence
  • Accepted June 29, 2011.
  • Copyright © 2011 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

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Pediatrics
Vol. 128, Issue 4
1 Oct 2011
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Breastfeeding, Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Colostrum, and Infant Mental Development
Mònica Guxens, Michelle A. Mendez, Carolina Moltó-Puigmartí, Jordi Julvez, Raquel García-Esteban, Joan Forns, Muriel Ferrer, Martine Vrijheid, M. Carmen López-Sabater, Jordi Sunyer
Pediatrics Oct 2011, 128 (4) e880-e889; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-1633

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Breastfeeding, Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Colostrum, and Infant Mental Development
Mònica Guxens, Michelle A. Mendez, Carolina Moltó-Puigmartí, Jordi Julvez, Raquel García-Esteban, Joan Forns, Muriel Ferrer, Martine Vrijheid, M. Carmen López-Sabater, Jordi Sunyer
Pediatrics Oct 2011, 128 (4) e880-e889; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-1633
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