Breastfeeding longer may help keep ADHD at bay. A large study found that each additional month of full breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life was associated with meaningfully lower ADHD symptom scores in children at ages 3, 5, and 8. The findings suggest exclusive or predominant breastfeeding could offer a protective effect against ADHD development.
Breastfeeding longer may help keep ADHD at bay
A large prospective cohort study published in Biological Psychiatry found that the longer a mother fully breastfed her child in the first 6 months of life, the lower the child's ADHD symptom scores were at ages 3, 5, and 8. Researchers drew on data from over 37,000 children in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study, making it one of the more robust examinations of this relationship to date.
Children who received only partial breastfeeding — or breastfed for fewer than 4 months — showed the highest increases in ADHD symptom scores across all three age checkpoints. Girls consistently showed lower ADHD symptoms than boys at all ages.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: These findings could shape new strategies for ADHD prevention and management, giving clinicians and public health advocates another evidence-based reason to support and promote extended breastfeeding in early infancy.
