Breastfeeding has a positive effect on children's cognitive functions

19. 07. 2022

Breastfeeding for more than half a year has a positive effect on children's psychological development. This was confirmed by a long-term study of Czech and Slovak researchers who observed children from České Budějovice and Karviná. The results have also shown that the duration of breastfeeding is particularly beneficial for the development of cognitive functions in children who live in areas with high levels of air pollution. The study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the CAS in collaboration with colleagues from other institutions.

While there is existing evidence that – with rare exceptions – breast milk is the best source of nutrition for newborn babies, experts still disagree on how long breastfeeding is optimal. The new study by Czech and Slovak experts focused on the development of cognitive function in children in relation to the duration of breastfeeding. Researchers observed groups of newborn babies from the districts of Karviná and České Budějovice, which differ significantly in their levels of air pollution. It is this pollution that may result in slower cognitive development and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

"In the polluted area, a previous study has shown that increased concentrations of fine PM2.5 particles negatively affect the psychological development of children at the age of 5," explains one of the authors of the study, Radim Šrám from the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the CAS.

Influence of breastfeeding duration, air pollution, and maternal education

The study involved a total of 147 children (80 from České Budějovice, 67 from Karviná) born in 2013 and 2014. The researchers assessed the cognitive functions of the five-year-olds using the Bender-Gestalt test (BG) and Raven's test (RCPM). The Bender-Gestalt drawing test (BG) is a method of developmental diagnosis of perceptual-motor functions and neurological impairments that tests how well children are able to draw presented geometric figures. The Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) is a screening nonverbal intelligence test that measures understanding of the complexity of patterns and the ability to store and recall information, i.e., problem-solving abilities.

The researchers collected information from maternal questionnaires about breastfeeding and children’s development. They found out that breastfeeding for longer than 6 months positively affected the results of both aforementioned tests.

"The results suggest that full breastfeeding for six months or more has a greater effect on cognitive development in both groups of children," says Radim Šrám. The effect of half a year or more of breastfeeding was more pronounced in the Bender-Gestalt test results, which measures visual and motor skills. "It can be assumed that longer breastfeeding is particularly beneficial for the development of cognitive functions in children living in areas with high levels of air pollution," adds Radim Šrám.

The results have also shown that the quality of cognitive development was also affected by the level of education of the mothers. Children of mothers with university degrees scored significantly better on Raven's test.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the CAS (Radim Šrám, Barbora Blažková, Anna Pastorková) in collaboration with colleagues from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice Hospital a.s., and L. Pasteur University Hospital in Košice.

Breastfeeding has a positive effect on children's cognitive functions

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