Breast-fed babies become children with fewer behaviour problems research suggests

The breast versus formula feeding debate will become even further inflamed today, with new research finding that babies who are breastfed are less likely to become children with behavioural problems at statutory school age.

Researchers from University College London and Oxford, Essex and York Universities, examined data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), to find out if there was a link between the method of baby feeding and child behaviour.

More than 10,000 pairs of mother and child were involved in the MCS, with the babies born between 2000 and 2001.

Using a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), parents were asked to score their children and identify possible problems including emotional clinginess, anxiety, hyperactivity, lying and stealing by the child’s fifth birthday.

Potential behavioural problems were found to be less common in children who had been breastfed for at least four months – 6 per cent – compared to 16 per cent of formula fed children.

The researchers suggest this could be explained by breast milk containing large amounts of essential long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.

This is what aids the development and function of the brain and central nervous system.

They also claim that breastfeeding leads to better interaction between the mother and child, helping them to understand acceptable behaviours.

Infant formula manufacturers have only supplemented formula with essential fatty acids in the last ten years.

The research is published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood