Breastfeeding at the breast (vs expressed milk) may offer advantages for brain function (working memory)

Can expressing milk (vs breastfeeding at the breast) affect a child’s neurodevelopment?

A fascinating new US study finds that breastfeeding at the breast (vs expressed milk) may benefit some aspects of the child’s “executive function” of the brain — so it may be advantageous to a child’s working memory at age 6.

Executive function is a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

The study:

The study by Keim SA et al. (2021) looked at how feeding at the breast vs expressed breast milk affected neurodevelopment and behaviour.

The study included 285 mothers/babies enrolled in the Moms2Moms study from Ohio, USA.

The study looked at duration of breastfeeding, feeding of expressed milk, breastfeeding combined with expressed milk plus infant formula.

The scientists looked at infant feeding practices at 12 months after birth and compared this with the child’s cognitive ability, executive function (including working memory) and eating behaviour at age 6.

The results:

• Each month of exclusive breastfeeding at the breast was associated…