Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdoakUDaI_/Breastfeeding within the first 4 months is associated with better emotional and behavioral stability at 4 years.  Spanish researchers studied 564 maternal-child pairs and published their results in the European Journal of Pediatrics using the standard Child Behavior Checklist.Breastfeeding for just one to four months is associated with significantly lower levels of anxiety, depression-related symptoms, withdrawn behavior, aggression, and overall emotional difficulties compared with children who were not breastfed at all. Most notable, breastfed children demonstrate fewer symptoms related to autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. The benefits plateau after eight months of breastfeeding.The bottom line. In addition to its nutritional, immune, and bonding benefits, breastfeeding is associated with improved longer-term emotional stability and mental health.https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/early-breastfeeding-protects-preschool-mental-health-2025a10010iy?lang=en&am