Researchers from Brown University used brain images from MRI machines for a new study and found that breastfeeding improves an infant's brain development.
Scientists in the past have emphasized on the importance of breastfeeding and the benefits it has for a baby's health. Now, a new study by researchers from Brown University suggests that breastfeeding is not only beneficial for the baby's health but also for its brain development. Researchers used brain images from MRI machines and found that breastfeeding alone leads to better development of a baby's brain when compared to a combination of breastfeeding and the use of formula. However, authors of the study did confirm that the combination of breastfeeding and formula is far better than feeding a baby formula alone.
Researchers of the study studied a sample of 133 babies ranging in ages from 10 months to four years. The babies were then split into three groups. The first one contained babies whose mothers exclusively breastfed their baby for the first three months. The second group had babies whose mothers claimed feeding their baby formula and the last group was made up of babies whose mothers claimed feeding their baby both breast milk and formula. Using children friendly MRI machines, they found that by the age of 2, children who were breastfed exclusively for the first three months showed more prominent brain growth than children who were fed only formula or the combination of breast milk and formula. This extra brain development was seen in areas of the brain associated with language, emotional function and cognition, the research showed.
Though previous studies have stated that breastfeeding is good for a baby's brain development, Sean Deoni, assistant professor of engineering at Brown and the study's lead author, said that this study was conducted to see how early these changes in brain development actually take place and found that it happens immediately after the child is born.
"We're finding the difference [in white matter growth] is on the order of 20 to 30 percent, comparing the breastfed and the non-breastfed kids," said Deoni. "I think it's astounding that you could have that much difference so early."
Other authors on the study were Douglas Dean, Irene Piryatinsky, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Lindsay Walker, Nicole Waskiewicz, Katie Lehman, Michelle Han and Holly Dirks, who all work with Deoni in the Baby Imaging Lab. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health.
