Effects of Breastfeeding Versus Formula

Feeding on Growth and Development from

Infancy Through Childhood

Shauna R. Letcher, Nicole L. Redmond, Meredith A. Cavour, Madison L. Aranda, Michael W. Audi
04/25/2018
NURS 3947: Nursing Research
Dr. Valerie O’Dell
Purpose of Research

To look at five different areas of

growth and development from
infancy through childhood and
how breastfeeding versus formula
feeding affects these factors.
 Weight

Motor
Emotional Development
Development

Neurological
Immunology Development
and Disease
 Factors Affecting Choice to Breastfeed

❏ Milk Supply
❏ Nipple Tenderness/ Soreness
❏ Work Schedule/ Availability
❏ Other Children/ Busy Schedule
❏ Prefer not to pump
Effects On Weight
The relationship between the food babies eat and their weight is not direct because
there are many factors.

Ex 1: In a study that asked why mothers stopped breastfeeding before 6 month, most
of the mothers said it was because their babies were not gaining the suggested
amount of weight when they went for their check ups. This was mostly due to the fact
that the mothers were not producing enough and just didn't know. So it wasn't a
direct indication of weather their milk was better for the baby than formula.
(Lushniak, Penine, 2014)
Effects On Weight Continued

Ex 2: In a study about breastfeeding, it is said the difference between formula and

breast milk is that formula milk is just a food whereas breast milk is a complex
living nutritional fluid that contains antibodies, enzymes and hormones all of which
include health benefits. These enzymes could improve gut health which would
eventually cause better absorption of nutrients and cause less incidents of
diarrhea which causes fluid imbalances and weight loss. Fluid loss for an infant is
very dangerous due to their much higher volume of fluid compared to adolescents.
(Hoddinott, Tappin, Wright, 2008).
Emotional Development

Is there a link between nutrition and emotional development?

❏ Emotional Care provided

❏ Temperament

❏ Bonding
Emotional Development (Continued)

Smith and Ellwood (July 2010)

❏ Australia April 2005- April 2006

❏ 188 Mothers
❏ Time use survey- recorded daily activities for 24 hours over 7 day period with
electronic device
❏ Completed at 3, 6, 9 months postpartum
❏ Are different feeding practices linked to different maternal investments in
emotional care?
Emotional Development (Continued)

Smith and Ellwood (July 2010)

Results:

❏ Exclusively Breastfed Infants received the greatest amount of emotional care

from their mothers (17 hours/week at age 3-6 months)
❏ Formula Fed Infants received the least amount of emotional care
❏ Mixed Fed infants received more than formula fed infants, but less than
exclusively breastfed infants
Maternal time spent in emotional care correlates positively with time spent breastfeeding

Buggey, T. (2007, Summer). Storyboard for Ivan's morning routine. Diagram. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 9(3), 151.
Retrieved December 14, 2007, from Academic Search Premier databas
Emotional Development (Continued)

Smith and Ellwood (July 2010)

Conclusions:

❏ Maternal time spent in emotional care of the infant correlates positively with
time spent breastfeeding
❏ Contact time with the mother is important for attachment and emotional care
❏ Non-Breastfed infants may be at a disadvantage when it comes to time spent on
emotional care and attachment
Emotional Development (Cont.)
Kielbratowska, Kazmierczak, Michalek, Preis (May 2015)

❏ 98 mothers with children aged 3-5 months in Poland

❏ Mothers completed mother baby scale (measures mom’s evaluation of child’s
behaviors during feeding and overall experiences with the child’s care)
❏ Children assessed with the Children Developmental Scale to measure their
Temperament
❏ 9 criteria to determine temperament: activity level, regularity of biological functions,
approach or withdrawal from new stimuli, adaptability, sensory threshold, intensity
of reaction, predominant quality of mood, distractibility, attention span
Emotional Development (Continued)
Kielbratowska, Kazmierczak, Michalek, Preis (May 2015)

Results:

● Breastfed infants scored higher on vigor, including activity and initial reaction
● Bottle fed infants scored higher on regularity of biological functions
● Mothers who breastfeed are more confident in their feeding method than mothers
who formula feed
Neurodevelopment

Neurodevelopment is a term referring to the

brain's development of neurological pathways

that influence performance or functioning (e.g.,

intellectual functioning, reading ability, social

skills, memory, attention or focus skills)

Breastfeeding Effects on Neurodevelopment Studies

In a study of 680 infants in the Netherlands it was shown

that breastfed infants had larger ganglio thalamic ovoid
diameters and larger head circumferences which is an
indicator for overall brain development and growth. The
study concludes that greatest advantage amongst the
participants were the infants that were exclusively
breastfed compared to those who were both bottle fed
and breastfed and those that were never breastfed.
(Herba et al., 2013)
Breastfeeding Effects on Neurodevelopment Studies
❏ Breastfeeding has been shown to play a significant role in the
neurodevelopment of infants and continues to affect them throughout
childhood.
❏ Studies of the brain, particular the white brain matter, shows that breastfed
infants had considerable more white brain matter than bottle fed infants.
❏ It was noted in the research that the areas of the brain development that
were affected the highest were language, emotional function and cognition
(Tawaia, 2013).
Breastfeeding Effects on Neurodevelopment Studies
❏ Another study showed that IQ is an area that is strongly affected by being breastfed.
The average IQ is raised by 5 points for individuals who are breastfed as infants.
Therefore, breastfeeding has shown to improve academic performance in school
age children.
❏ The study also found being fed artificial baby formula milk as an infant was
associated with decreased school achievement in Brazilian adolescents – the
shorter time they had been breastfed, the less time they stay at school and the lower
their academic achievement.
❏ It is also noted in this study that socio-economic status did not play a part in this
study as all participants were in a similar social class (Tawaia, 2013).
Breastfeeding Effects on Neurodevelopment Studies
❏ A recent study also demonstrated links between breast milk, cognitive development and white matter

volume among children who were born prematurely.

❏ This link was particularly strong in premature boys and that this connection makes sense because of

the brain is in a critical stage of development after birth and continues for the first two years of life.

❏ Human breast milk contains long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid

(DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA). The rapid brain development just prior to birth and in the first 6-12

months after birth is associated with an increased incorporation of these long-chain polyunsaturated

fatty acids into the brain, particularly the cerebral cortex and neural networks (Herba et al., 2013).
 Immunology and Disease

❏ After a woman gives birth to her infant mother nature takes over instinctively

to provide for that newborn with a liquid called colostrum that will supplement

that newborn until the mother’s milk comes in a few days after birth.

❏ A mother’s colostrum and milk contains so many cellular components specific

to each individual mother that it could never be replicated in a laboratory and

made into formula.

Grzelak, 2014
 Immunology and Disease
❏ Breastfed infants are shown to have a more developed respiratory system and an

increase in function and productiveness of the gastrointestinal tract.

❏ The recommended primary prevention of an allergic disease is to breastfeed your

infant for at least six months

❏ Rotavirus incidences are diminished in infants who are breastfed and typically occur

after six months compared to infants who are not breast are typically diagnosed

within the first month

Grzelak, 2014
 Immunology and Disease

❏ There are decreased incidences of allergies, type 1 diabetes, obesity in childhood,

death from infection, HIV transmission, otitis media, SIDS, and childhood cancer

❏ Long term decreased incidences of hypertension, atherosclerosis, Crohn’s disease

and rheumatoid arthritis

❏ Immunity against H influenzae, group B streptococci, respiratory syncytial virus

(RSV), and herpes simplex virus type 1

Stuebe, 2009
Motor Function

❏ Deficits in motor function attribute to numerous health disorders

leading to difficult and expensive treatments
❏ Does breastfeeding lead to motor function development in children and
how long do these benefits last?
Motor Function
(Deoni et al., 2013)

❏ 133 children with an age range of 10 months old - 4 years old

❏ Subjects were separated into 3 groups: exclusively breastfeeding, exclusively
bottle feeding, and a combination of both
❏ Physical attributes were assessed using MRI and the Mullen Scales of Early
Learning
❏ Results showed a combination of breast and bottle feeding yielded the highest
score in Mullen Scales of Early Learning.
Motor Function Cont.
(Deoni et al., 2013)

❏ The same study found that exclusively breastfeeding increased VFM in

somatosensory, auditory, and language areas
❏ Thus, increased motor control and language performance as well as visual
reception
❏ There was a positive correlation between breastfeeding and motor function
Motor Function Cont.
(Deoni et al., 2013)

❏ Breastfeeding also proved to be beneficial in the later stages of development

❏ In late maturing white matter association regions of the brain, breastfeeding
was found to be associated with improved developmental growth
❏ This shows breastfeeding has benefits that last beyond the time period of
consumption and into the later stages of development
Conclusion

❏ Breastfeeding has been shown to improve gut health, lower the chance of
obesity, improve neurodevelopment, and improve the development of the
respiratory system, among many other benefits
❏ In addition, breastfeeding promotes mother-infant relationships and bonding
time
❏ With the proven developmental advantages, breastfeeding seems to be the
most beneficial feeding method over formula-feeding
References
Deoni, S., Dean, D., Piryatinsky, I., O'Muircheartaigh J., Waskiewicz, N., Lehman, K., Han, M.,
& Dirks, H. (2010). Breastfeeding and early white matter development: A cross-sectional study. Neuroimage, 82, 77-86.
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777218/pdf/main.pdf
Grzelak, T., Woźniak, U., & Czyżewska, K. (2014). The influence of natural feeding on human
health: Short- and long-term perspectives. Gastroenterology Review,1, 4-10. doi:10.5114/pg.2014.40843
Herba, Catherine M.; Hofman, Albert; Govaert, Paul; Roza, Sabine; Tiemeier, Henning;
Verhulst, Frank C.;. (July 2013). Breastfeeding and early brain development: the Generation R study. Maternal & Child
Nutrition, 9(3), 332-349. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12015
Hoddinott, P. Tappin, D, Wright, C. (2008). Breastfeeding: British Medical Journal Vol. 336,
No. 7649 (Apr. 19, 2008), pp. 881-887. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20509527
Kielbratowska, B., Kazmierczak, M., Michalek, J., Preis, K. (2015). Temperament and the
Mother-Infant Dyad: Associations with Breastfeeding and Formula Feeding with a
Bottle. Infant Mental Health Journal, vol 36(3), p. 243-250. Doi: 10.1002/imhj.21508
Penine, CG. Lushniak, BD. (2014). Helping women achieve their breastfeeding goals: The role
of hospitals. Public Health Reports (1974-), Vol. 129, No. 5 (September/October 2014),
pp. 400-402. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43775765
Smith, J.P., Ellwood, M. (2010). Feeding Patterns and Emotional Care in Breastfed Infants. Soc
Indic Res, Vol (101), p.227-231. Doi: 10.1007/s11205-010-9657-9
Stuebe, A. (2009). The Risks of Not Breastfeeding for Mothers and Infants. Reviews in
Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2(4), 222–231. doi: 10.3909/riog0093
Tawia, Susan. (November 2013). Breastfeeding, brain structure and function, cognitive
development and educational attainment. Breastfeeding Review, 21(3), 15-20. Retrieved from
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