Breastfeeding Is a Dynamic Biological Process—Not Simply a Meal at the Breast

Raju, Tonse N.K.

doi:10.1089/bfm.2011.0081

Cited by 46 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…As a further consideration and limitation, it must be stressed that breastfeeding is a dynamic and complex process that involves and impacts several hormonal, physiological, and psychological systems (56). It is therefore difficult to unpack and to determine the exact mechanisms by which breastfeeding exerts the effects seen in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…For example, Takeda et al (49) demonstrated that concentrations of radioactively marked oxytocin injected into rat dams were found in both the plasma and gastric contents of neonates after suckling. The duration in which human infants are fed with breast milk exclusively (exclusive breastfeeding; EBF) is recognized to facilitate cognitive (52)(53)(54)(55)(56) and neural development (57)(58)(59). However, only recently, EBF has been linked to differences in emotion processing in both mothers (60) and infants (61).…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Genetic variation in CD38 and breastfeeding experience interact to impact infants’ attention to social eye cues

Krol

Monakhov

Lai

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Attending to emotional information conveyed by the eyes is an important social skill in humans. The current study examined this skill in early development by measuring attention to eyes while viewing emotional faces in 7-mo-old infants. In particular, we investigated individual differences in infant attention to eyes in the context of genetic variation (CD38 rs3796863 polymorphism) and experiential variation (exclusive breastfeeding duration) related to the oxytocin system. Our results revealed that, whereas infants at this age show a robust fear bias (increased attention to fearful eyes), their attention to angry and happy eyes varies as a function of exclusive breastfeeding experience and genetic variation in CD38. Specifically, extended exclusive breastfeeding duration selectively enhanced looking preference to happy eyes and decreased looking to angry eyes. Importantly, however, this interaction was impacted by CD38 variation, such that only the looking preferences of infants homozygous for the C allele of rs3796863 were affected by breastfeeding experience. This genotype has been associated with reduced release of oxytocin and higher rates of autism. In contrast, infants with the CA/AA genotype showed similar looking preferences regardless of breastfeeding exposure. Thus, differences in the sensitivity to emotional eyes may be linked to an interaction between the endogenous (CD38) and exogenous (breastfeeding) availability of oxytocin. These findings underline the importance of maternal care and the oxytocin system in contributing to the early development of responding to social eye cues.CD38 | oxytocin | breastfeeding | emotion perception | infancy S ensitive responding to emotions in others is a vital social skill that helps us relate to others, predict their actions, and coordinate our own behavior during social interactions. Given its critical importance for effective social functioning, it is not surprising that the ability to detect and distinguish between emotional expressions emerges early in human development. Findings from behavioral and neuroscience studies indicate that infants' ability to discriminate between positive and negative emotional expressions emerges in the first year of life (see refs. 1 and 2 for reviews). For example, by around 7 mo of age, infants distinguish between fearful and happy facial expressions and show increased allocation of attention to fear (3). This enhanced attention to fear in others marks the emergence of a "fear bias" in infancy, which is thought to orient and alert the infant to potentially threatening situations (2, 4). Prior work with adults demonstrates that emotion perception and, in particular, fear detection (eyes wide open) rely heavily on information from the eye region and occur even in the absence of conscious perception (5-8).The importance of eye cues for emotion perception has recently been studied in infants. In an event-related brain potential (ERP) study, 7-mo-old infants were found to discriminate between fear and happiness on the basis of eye c...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation in CD38 and breastfeeding experience interact to impact infants’ attention to social eye cues

Krol

Monakhov

Lai

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Skin-to-skin contact has been related to improved mother–child bonding and cognitive functioning 45 46. Perhaps the combination of physical contact and the most appropriate nutrients required for growth and brain development is implicated in the better neurocognitive and adult outcomes of breastfed infants 47. This might suggest that mothers who do not breast feed could aid their child's development by mimicking the close skin-to-skin contact that breastfeeding mothers naturally have with their infant during feeding and selecting brands of formula that contain LCPUFA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breast feeding and intergenerational social mobility: what are the mechanisms?

Sacker

Kelly

Iacovou

et al. 2013

Archives of Disease in Childhood

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ObjectiveTo investigate the association between breast feeding and intergenerational social mobility and the possible mediating role of neurological and stress mechanisms.DesignSecondary analysis of data from the 1958 and the 1970 British Cohort Studies.SettingLongitudinal study of individuals born in Britain during 1 week in 1958 and 1970.Participants17 419 individuals participated in the 1958 cohort and 16 771 in the 1970 cohort. The effect of breast feeding on intergenerational social mobility from age 10/11 to age 33/34 was analysed after multiple imputations to fill in missing data and propensity score matching on a wide range of confounders measured in childhood (1958 cohort N=16 039–16 154; 1970 cohort N=16 255–16 361).Main outcome measuresOwn Registrar General's Social Class (RGSC) at 33/34 years adjusted for father's RGSC at 10/11 years, gender and their interaction.ResultsBreastfed individuals were more likely to be upwardly mobile (1958 cohort: OR 1.24 95% CI 1.12 to 1.38; 1970 cohort: OR 1.24 95% CI 1.12 to 1.37) and less likely to be downwardly mobile (1958 cohort: OR 0.81 95% CI 0.73 to 0.90; 1970 cohort: OR 0.79 95% CI 0.71 to 0.88). In an ordinal regression model, markers of neurological development (cognitive test scores) and stress (emotional stress scores) accounted for approximately 36% of the relationship between breast feeding and social mobility.ConclusionsBreast feeding increased the odds of upward social mobility and decreased the odds of downward mobility. Consistent with a causal explanation, the findings were robust to matching on a large number of observable variables and effect sizes were alike for two cohorts with different social distributions of breast feeding. The effect was mediated in part through neurological and stress mechanisms.

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“…It has been argued that breastfeeding transcends merely providing a nutritionally and immunologically optimized meal, in that breastfeeding builds a lasting psychosocial bond between the mother and her infant (217). Research typically suggests that breastfed infants may be more alert, less colicky, perceive maternal care more strongly, have reduced mental health problems in adolescence, and engage more readily in their interactions with their parents than those fed formula (18; 79; 85; 194).…”

Section: Psychological Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breastfeeding Initiation and Maintenance Among African Americans and Blacks Enrolled in a Nurse Home Visitation Program: An Outcomes Focused Program Evaluation

Henderson¹

2013

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Breastfeeding Is a Dynamic Biological Process—Not Simply a Meal at the Breast

Cited by 46 publications

References 19 publications

Genetic variation in CD38 and breastfeeding experience interact to impact infants’ attention to social eye cues

Genetic variation in CD38 and breastfeeding experience interact to impact infants’ attention to social eye cues

Breast feeding and intergenerational social mobility: what are the mechanisms?

Breastfeeding Initiation and Maintenance Among African Americans and Blacks Enrolled in a Nurse Home Visitation Program: An Outcomes Focused Program Evaluation

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