Examining psychosocial pathways to explain the link between breastfeeding practices and child behaviour in a longitudinal cohort.
BMC Public Health
; 24(1): 675, 2024 Mar 04.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38439033
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Breastfeeding is associated with reduced postpartum depression, stronger parent-child relationships, and fewer behavioral disorders in early childhood. We tested the mediating roles of postpartum depression and parent-child relationship in the association between breastfeeding practices and child behavior. STUDYDESIGN:
We used standardized questionnaire data from a subset of the CHILD Cohort Study (n = 1,573) to measure postpartum depression at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years, parent-child relationship 1 year and 2 years, and child behavior at 5 years using the Child Behavior Checklist (range 0-100). Breastfeeding practices were measured at 3 months (none, partial, some expressed, all direct at the breast), 6 months (none, partial, exclusive), 12 months, and 24 months (no, yes). Confounders included birth factors, maternal characteristics, and socioeconomic status.RESULTS:
Breast milk feeding at 3 or 6 months was associated with - 1.13 (95% CI -2.19-0.07) to -2.14 (95% CI -3.46, -0.81) lower (better) child behavior scores. Reduced postpartum depression at 6 months mediated between 11.5% and 16.6% of the relationship between exclusive breast milk feeding at 3 months and better child behavior scores. Together, reduced postpartum depression at 1 year and reduced parent-child dysfunction at 2 years mediated between 21.9% and 32.1% of the relationship between breastfeeding at 12 months and better child behavior scores.CONCLUSION:
Postpartum depression and parent-child relationship quality partially mediate the relationship between breastfeeding practices and child behavior. Breastfeeding, as well as efforts to support parental mental health and parent-child relationships, may help to improve child behavior.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Lactancia Materna
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Depresión Posparto
Límite:
Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
Idioma:
En
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article