The benefits of breast feeding are numerous, from reductions in risks of asthma, diabetes and SIDS to stronger immune systems which fend off infections – just to name a few. And now researchers from Australia believe that children who were breastfed for greater than six months demonstrated better mental well-being and improved ability to deal with stress later in life. After assessing more than 2,000 children at various time intervals, researchers also found that children who were breastfed for shorter periods of time had worse behavior which could translate into aggression or depression. But for each additional month a child was breastfed, behavior improved. These findings did not change even after adjusting for social, economic and psychological factors and early life events. “Interventions aimed at increasing breastfeeding duration could be of long-term benefit for child and adolescent mental health,” the researchers concluded. [via Medline Plus]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.