Breastfeeding and mental health

Young mother breastfeeding her child – 19th century painting by Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot

Breastfeeding and mental health is the relationship between postpartum breastfeeding and the mother's and child's mental health. Research indicates breastfeeding may have positive effects on the mother's and child's mental health, though there have been conflicting studies that question the correlation and causation of breastfeeding and maternal mental health.[1][2] Possible benefits include improved mood and stress levels in the mother, lower risk of postpartum depression, enhanced social emotional development in the child, stronger mother-child bonding and more. Given the benefits of breastfeeding, the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission for Public Health (ECPH) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.[1] Despite these suggestions, estimates indicate 70% of mothers breastfeed their child after birth and 13.5% of infants in the United States are exclusively breastfed.[3] Breastfeeding promotion and support for mothers who are experiencing difficulties or early cessation in breastfeeding is considered a health priority.[1]

The exact nature of the relationship between breastfeeding and some aspects of mental health is still unclear to scientists.[1][4][5] The causal links are uncertain due to the variability of how breastfeeding and its effects are measured across studies.[4][5] There are complex interactions between numerous psychological, sociocultural and biochemical factors which are not yet fully understood.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d Figueiredo, Bárbara; Dias, Cláudia C.; Brandão, Sónia; Canário, Catarina; Nunes-Costa, Rui (2013). "Breastfeeding and postpartum depression: state of the art review". Jornal de Pediatria. 89 (4): 332–338. doi:10.1016/j.jped.2012.12.002. hdl:10216/102955. ISSN 1678-4782. PMID 23791236.
  2. ^ Rivi, Veronica; et al. (15 September 2020). "Mind the Mother When Considering Breastfeeding". Frontiers in Global Women's Health. 1 (3): 3. doi:10.3389/fgwh.2020.00003. PMC 8593947. PMID 34816148.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Krol, Kathleen M.; Grossmann, Tobias (2018). "Psychological effects of breastfeeding on children and mothers". Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz. 61 (8): 977–985. doi:10.1007/s00103-018-2769-0. ISSN 1437-1588. PMC 6096620. PMID 29934681.
  5. ^ a b c Pope, Carley J.; Mazmanian, Dwight (2016). "Breastfeeding and Postpartum Depression: An Overview and Methodological Recommendations for Future Research". Depression Research and Treatment. 2016: 4765310. doi:10.1155/2016/4765310. PMC 4842365. PMID 27148457.