Breast-fed Children Are Less Anxious

Breast-feeding's calming effects on the child seem to be long lasting. Years after being weaned, breastfed children cope better with stressful situations like their parents' divorce than their bottle-fed peers.

In children who are breast-fed, there is less of an association between parental divorce and separation and childhood anxiety.

Breast milk is full of nutrients, hormones, enzymes, growth factors and antibodies that are passed from mother to child.

Research has shown breast-feeding reduces infections, respiratory illness and diarrhoea in the child and cuts the risk of after-birth bleeding in the mother.

In an observation study published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, Montgomery and his team studied how breast and bottle-fed 10-year-olds coped with the stress of their parents' marital problems.

The children were among 9,000 youngsters who had been monitored from birth for a major British study. Their teachers were asked to rate their anxiety level on a scale of 0-50.

There was a higher level of stress in all the children but the breast-fed youngsters coped better The anxiety was much less obvious in children who were breast-fed.

The researchers do not know why breast-fed babies were less anxious. They suggested breast-feeding could be an indicator of other parental factors or the physical contact between the mother and the child may have helped to reduce anxiety.

Breast-feeding could also influence the development of pathways in the body linked with its response to stress.

The more we look at breast-feeding, the more benefits we see. As this is something that is, in evolutionary terms, normal, it is likely to be important in normal human development.

Breast-fed Children

1. Cope better with stressful situation's at home and school than their bottle-fed peers. Like in the case of their parents' divorce, for instance

2. They have immunity against diseases

3. They are less anxious and do not fret unnecessarily

4. Breast-feeding affects the development of pathways in the body linked with its response its to stress.

Carolyn Joana is a parenting expert who offers great, tested, down to earth and reassuring tips on home-made baby food, baby health, home-remedies for babies, baby massage, baby care, breastfeeding and much more at her website http://www.guide-to-baby-needs.com