Children who are breastfed are less likely to develop neurological conditions, including autism, a new study found.

[EddyF]

Researchers studied 570,000 infants, about half of which were breastfed for at least six months.

They found exclusively breastfed babies were 28 percent less likely to be diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition (NDC), such as autism, ADHD and cerebral palsy.

Breastfed babies were also 18 percent less likely to have delays in language and social milestones compared to babies who were breastfed for less than six months.

Babies who were partially breastfed - possibly supplemented with formula - were 14 percent less likely to have delays.

The reduced risk even persisted among siblings, who would most likely have similar genetic risks if they have the same parents. Those who were breastfed for at least six months were nine percent less likely to have milestone delays.

Article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14531215/amp/Parenting-choice-slashes-childrens-autism-risk.html

It’s also a bit of a distraction as actually the biggest impact on the gut health of babies is whether they were born vaginally or by Caesarian, not the mode of feeding. There’s quite a link between gut health and autism, and there is a significant link between Caesarians and ASD/ADHD.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49740735.amp

I read the study (too quickly and I'm not a stats person/scientist). They do attempt to adjust for eg socio economic, educational variables that influence breastfeeding rates by looking at children within families. They don't discuss whether mothers are autistic or why mothers stopped breastfeeding (I don't think they had data on either of these).

I absolutely agree that it is far more likely that babies with significant delays struggle to breastfeed than that breastfeeding is preventing delays. Especially as the data used to cross reference the early years data with later diagnoses was from disability benefits data so tracks the most disabled children (eg the researchers note that children with less severe ADHD are unlikely to be in their second set of data).

Anyone with disabled or delayed kids reading this who is feeling at all guilty - please don't. I breastfeed my DS for 15 months and because he's been autistic since the day he was born, it didn't make a blind bit of difference.

I have ebf 3 babies. And all extended bf.

This doesn't hold true for me

Daily fail, nuff said.

lol

Anecdotal evidence from my family says this is rubbish. Extended BF, not one bottle, lots of ND.

What a load of bollocks.

DS is high needs autistic and was breastfed for 3 and a half years.

Did have some goady old bat tell me that he can't learn to talk if he's still stuck to the breast though so the disability shaming isn't exclusive to simply formula feeding.

I think I may have stopped the world from being ruled by one person! I drank and smoked throughout my pregnancy, probably ate soft cheese too. I didn't breast feed them, I went back to work after six weeks post partum (that was the maximum allowed).

My now adult child is very intelligent and has a very good job.

But just imagine, if I'd done everything that pregnant women are now told to do (and I wouldn't argue with any one of the rules) my child could have ruled of the world 😁. You know, like musk or trump😆

Bullshit. How can breastfeeding have any effect on cerebral palsy rates when it largely happens in utero or during birth?

I'll have a word with all 4 of my breast fed autistic kids then.

What's more likely, that they got it from the sort of milk they did/didn't drink, or the fact their father is a poster boy for undiagnosed ASD?

I mean this article is obviously bullshit. The handwringing about breastfeeding is silly. It is obviously better in an ideal world to breastfeed for a number of reasons, including the child's health. However, this also has to be balanced with the very real fact that breastfeeding is difficult and time consuming and a lot of women just cannot make that kind of sacrifice in the modern world. I actually think the numbers of women who 'can't' breastfeed are miniscule and most don't educate themeselves on how to establish feeding - however, some breastfeeding mums drink bottles of wine and breastfeed or bring their kids up in polluted cities where they are breathing in nano particles every day. No one is perfect and modern life means we make choices and compromises that are not really anyone else's concern.

Someone tell this to my 13 year old, breastfed till 2, asthmatic, dyslexic and has ADHD. The amount of mum guilt to be spread about never lets up does it.

the majority of us do the best we can for our dc in all their perfect uniqueness.

I think the causation may be the other way - autistic children are more likely to have feeding difficulties and therefore more likely to end up being bottle fed. Autistic children are much more likely to have dyspraxia, which can make it hard to coordinate movements including mouth/tongue movements for feeding.

AFAIK Cerebral Palsy is due to birth trauma or premature birth.

Due to insufficient glandular tissue in my breasts, I never made much milk. If I’d exclusively breastfed, my babies would have starved to death.

What do you think I should have done? Let my babies get by on the tiny amounts of milk I could provide and scream from hunger between feedings, lest they “become autistic” from formula?

The breast is best brigade need to get a fucking clue and stop telling women what to do with their bodies. I’m thankful to live in an age in which I had a safe way to sustain my babies when my body let me down. If your aim was to make formula feeding mums feel guilty, then you failed with me.

The latest peer reviewed paper I saw on this was here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08289-w

Much more likely to be genetic variation(s), that may/not have been caused by environmental factors (including viruses in the first trimester) and have lead to more research into the gut microbiome.

Or you can carry on posting click bait for the Daily Mail to guilt trip mothers OP.

Well I breastfed mine for 14 months and he's neuro-diverse. (As are quite a few adults in my family I suspect, although my child will be the first to have a diagnosis.) I think it's hereditary more than anything else.

Fair point!

I meant EBF and then fed along with solids until somewhere over 2.

Interestingly the DC who refused breastfeeding has been later on milestones in general whereas DC who loved breastfeeding has been normal for milestones. Refuser is now suspected ADHD (younger is too young to say). Of course you could argue that being neurodiverse makes the baby less willing to breastfeed or something

This.

HG, pre eclampsia and being induced are all associated with a higher risk of autism. I had all three (probably, HG wasn't actually diagnosed at the time). I didn't exactly blame myself, but had a bit of 'if only I'd known' anxiety, but realistically what could I have done.

I did EBF though and continued BF until 14 months, so I did one thing right...

Oh my goodness I couldn’t even make it through the abstract! Can you say more about this research in layperson language please if you don’t mind?

Where is the link to the actual scientific paper from that article?

Goady post.

So I even did EBF wrong, going by the two ND children I produced.

In the 60s and early 70s mothers were actively encouraged to bottle feed their babies and formula was promoted as being better.
Yet that generation of babies didn't turn out more autistic that the last decade or so of babies, where not only are more children diagnosed (because it's more recognised) but anecdatally, (I've worked in Special Ed for 20 years) more and more children do appear to have severe (non verbal need 24/7 care for life)

There are quite clearly a great deal many more factors at play than breast v bottle!! Genetics, enviromental etc. And any baby born with c.p... well that breast milk isn't going to make a jot of difference to damage to a brain either at birth or in utero!

(Parent of four..two NT , two with autism... all fed the same way!)

Ok sorry. I just confused when people say this, and wondered if some people don't start their kids on food until later.