Breastfeeding and psychomotor developement

Abstract

Aims: To determine the benefits of breastfeeding during the first six months of life in the psychomotor development of children, showing how the components in breast milk help generate this. On average, levels reach 43% of mothers exclusively breastfeeding at the end of this period.

Methods: In Barros Luco Tudreau Hospital, in San Miguel, Santiago, 10 infants were followed up for 5 years since birth. We selected five mothers who practiced breastfeeding until the sixth month of life for their children, and other 5 mothers who, breastfed until the third month. We analyzed the composition of breast milk and found that one of the mothers did not present lacoteferrin due to a mutation. Subsequently, tracking each child with controls every 3 months, subjecting them to various tests to assess psychomotor development.

Results: The children of the 5 mothers who practiced breastfeeding during the first six months, had a higher psychomotor development than children of mothers who stopped breastfeeding in the third month, measured by the test TEPSI (91.2% approval in infants upto six months of breasfeeding, and 50.5% in children who did not meet breastfeeding in this period). In the case of the mother that no present lactoferrin, her son developed autism.

Conclusions: These results suggest that breastfeeding in the first six months of life make a big difference in the psychomotor development of children, which is very important for the development of various activities. And lactoferrin is a major component in this process.

Keywords: Breastfeeding, lactoferrin, psychomotor development, children.