Breastfeeding and 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.
[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] However, other studies indicate that the stress of breastfeeding may have a negative impact on maternal mental health, especially when presented in an all-or-none, "Breast is best" manner.
[4] This is reflected in their physiological response to breastfeeding, where the mother's cardiac vagal tone modulation enhances, and blood pressure[1] and heart rate decreases.
[1][4] The activity positively influences how mothers respond to social situations, which facilitates improved relationships and interactions.
[1] Breastfeeding difficulties and interruption lead to poorer maternal mood and increase the risk of developing postpartum depression.
[1][4] A 2011 study conducted by Nielson and colleagues found women who were unable to breastfeed were 2.4 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression 16 weeks after birth.
[11] Reasons for being unable to breastfeed include nipple pain, child temperamental issues, lack of milk production, breast surgery and mastitis.
[4] It is suggested that mothers who experience problems during breastfeeding require immediate additional support or should be screened for any signs of depression.
[1][4][5] This is due to several reasons including: Recent reports indicate that a reciprocal or bidirectional relationship exists between breastfeeding and postpartum depression.
[17] Breastfeeding may also facilitate decreased aggression and antisocial tendencies in infants; and it is suggested this effect carries on into adulthood.
[4] In a longitudinal study conducted by Merjonen and colleagues (2011), it was found adults who were not breastfed during infancy demonstrated higher levels of hostility and aggression.
[4] The calming, analgesic effect and reduced sensitivity to pain is due to several factors:[16] The reduction of antisocial behaviour and aggression is attributed to increased levels of oxytocin in the infant during breastfeeding.
The abstinence or unnecessary prolonging of breastfeeding may suggest the mother is not mentally well and this contributes to increasingly antisocial behaviour in the child.
[4][19] The exact physiological mechanism of this link is unclear[19] but this association may be due to the lack of colostrum intake from breast milk which contains essential antibodies, protein and immune cells that are necessary for typical socio-emotional development and health.
[4][19] There is a possibility that children who are later diagnosed with ASD already possess behavioural traits which prevent regular breastfeeding activities.
[4][19] Children with ASD have reduced joint control,[4] decreased social interaction or lack of cooperativeness;[19] and this can lead to irregular breastfeeding patterns.
This suggests the mother's enhanced emotional, empathetic and sensitive response to their child, which supports mother-infant bonding.
[4] For example, Britton and colleagues (2006) did not find a significant association between breastfeeding and mother-infant bonding but found that mothers displaying more sensitivity were more likely to breastfeed than bottlefeed.
