The effects of breastfeeding exclusivity on early childhood outcomes

J.M. Jenkins and E.M. Foster

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue S1, S128-S135

Abstract: Objectives. We examined the relationship between breastfeeding exclusivity and duration and children's health and cognitive outcomes at ages 2 and 4 years. Methods. We used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative sample of 10 700 children born in the United States in 2001. Parent interviews and child assessments were conducted in measurement waves at 9 months, 2 years, 4 years, and in kindergarten, with the focus on ages 2 and 4 years. We employed propensity scores as a means of adjusting for confounding involving observed characteristics. Results. Outcome analyses using propensity scores showed some small effects of breastfeeding on key outcomes at age 4 years but not at age 2 years. Effects appeared to be concentrated in reading and cognitive outcomes. Overall, we found no consistent evidence for dosage effects of breastfeeding exclusivity. Our sensitivity analyses revealed that a small amount of unobserved confounding could be responsible for the resulting benefits. Conclusions. Our study revealed little or no effect of breastfeeding exclusivity and duration on key child outcomes.

Keywords: article; breast feeding; child development; female; human; longitudinal study; methodology; motor performance; preschool child; propensity score; reading; statistics, Breast Feeding; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Motor Skills; Propensity Score; Reading (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2013.301713_8

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301713

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