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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Nov 11;5(11):4414-28.
doi: 10.3390/nu5114414.

Exclusive breastfeeding and developmental and behavioral status in early childhood

Olof H Jonsdottir  1 , Inga Thorsdottir, Geir Gunnlaugsson, Mary S Fewtrell, Patricia L Hibberd, Ronald E Kleinman
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Exclusive breastfeeding and developmental and behavioral status in early childhood

Olof H Jonsdottir et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Breastfeeding during infancy may have beneficial effects on various developmental outcomes in childhood. In this study, exclusively breastfed infants were randomly assigned to receive complementary foods from the age of 4 months in addition to breast milk (CF, n = 60), or to exclusively breastfeed to 6 months (EBF, n = 59). At 18 months and again at 30-35 months of age, the children were evaluated with the Parent's Evaluation of Developmental Status questionnaire (PEDS) and the Brigance Screens-II. The parents completed the PEDS questionnaire at both time intervals and the children underwent the Brigance Screens-II at 30-35 months. At 30-35 months, no significant differences were seen in developmental scores from the Brigance screening test (p = 0.82). However, at 30-35 months a smaller percentage of parents in group CF (2%) had concerns about their children's gross motor development compared to those in group EBF (19%; p = 0.01), which remained significant when adjusted for differences in pre-randomization characteristics (p = 0.03). No sustained effect of a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding was seen on selected measures of developmental and behavioral status at 18 months, although at 30-35 months, a smaller percentage of parents of children introduced to complementary foods at four months of age expressed concerns about their gross motor development.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Developmental screening tests used in the study, the Parent’s Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) questionnaire and the Brigance Screens-II.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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