New Research on Breastfeeding

Three new research studies that might change how you think about breastfeeding

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This week is World Breastfeeding Week! World Breastfeeding Week is recognized the first week of August every year to spread awareness and support for breastfeeding. In honor of this important week, I am sharing three research findings related to breastfeeding that have come out in the past few months.

I also created a new free Breastfeeding Guide on my website with research-backed tips on breastfeeding. This guide also addresses the “breast is best” versus “fed is best” debate (TL;DR: breastfeeding is associated with benefits but so is a mother’s mental health so women need more support and less judgement around breastfeeding). Also to read about my own struggles with breastfeeding, check out this article that I wrote for Motherly last year.

Now here are the three research findings that may change how you think about breastfeeding:

1. Breastfeeding aversion may be more common than you think: Breastfeeding Aversion Response (BAR) is a feeling of aversion that occurs during the entire duration that the child is latched (translation: mothers report that breastfeeding is exhausting or sickening, or that they feel “touched out,” angry, anxious, violated, guilty, or disconnected). This feeling is different from Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER), which involves sudden, intense negative emotions during the milk letdown. For D-MER, negative feelings only occur during letdown and the Breastfeeding Aversion Response occurs during the entire breastfeeding session.

   A recent study reported the results of a survey of over 5,000 women in Australia and found that one in five women reported Breastfeeding Aversion Response. Most women (96%) who experienced breastfeeding aversion also reported challenges with breastfeeding. Yet, 82.5% of women who experience Breastfeeding Aversion Response indicated that their overall breastfeeding experience was positive (rating it as “good” or “very good”). Women with higher education and income were less likely to experience breastfeeding aversion. Women who are breastfeeding for the first time, are tandem breastfeeding (translation: breastfeeding two children of different ages at once), or are breastfeeding around the time of ovulation or menstruation are also more likely to experience breastfeeding aversion. Most women who experience breastfeeding aversion response report feeling isolated and unsupported. Women who are experiencing breastfeeding aversion need more support and understanding. A lactation consultant or mental health professional may be able to help you learn how to manage conflicting feelings related to breastfeeding while still achieving your breastfeeding goals.

2. Breastfeeding may cost families up to $10,000 (US dollars) per year: An often-quoted line that new parents will hear is that “Breastfeeding is free” and although breastfeeding (assuming that it is possible) may save parents the high cost of formula, it is misleading to say that it is entirely without cost. In particular, suggesting that breastfeeding is free fails to acknowledge the huge time commitment associated with breastfeeding that falls almost exclusively on mothers.

   A new study attempted to quantify the costs of breastfeeding to help better understand some of the barriers to breastfeeding. The researchers estimated that breastfeeding may cost families $8,640 to $11,611. per year. Although a small part of this cost (about $706 to $1,026 per year) involves equipment and support (lactation consultants, nursing bras, breastfeeding pillows, nipple cream, increased food intake of the mother, etc), nearly all of this estimate is the opportunity cost of a mother’s time. Breastfeeding may require more time away from work or professional opportunities lost in order to successfully pump after returning to work. In particular, the researchers estimated that breastfeeding may demand 3 to 4 hours per day of a mother’s time and they multiplied that by minimum wage in the United States ($7.25) to get $7,939 to $10,585 per year. Although higher-income families (and mothers who are salaried employees) may be able to make this time commitment work, lower-income families and employees who are hourly workers may not be able to afford it.

   The purpose of sharing this estimate is not to discourage breastfeeding, but to make sure that breastfeeding families have the support that they need and that women are recognized for their time spent breastfeeding. It is important to note that formula feeding is also expensive and parents (most often mothers) spend many hours preparing formula bottles and cleaning bottle parts. Realistically estimating the costs of breastfeeding may help to remove some of the barriers to breastfeeding, especially for low-income families. In particular, breastfeeding families need more accommodations to support breastfeeding at work and paid family leave in order to compensate for lost wages and opportunities at work. Providing more financial support around breastfeeding may help more families to achieve their breastfeeding goals.

3. Breastmilk contains a molecule that helps to enhance brain connectivity: A new study published in July 2023 found that a sugar molecule that is a component of breastmilk called myo-inositol is important in enhancing brain connectivity. The researchers studied breastmilk samples from mothers in very different locations (Cincinnati, Mexico City, and Shanghai) to make sure that they were identifying a substance that was universal to breastmilk (that is, not dependent on diet, race, or location). Myo-inositol is present in the highest concentrations in early breastfeeding (during the first months of life) and gradually decreases over the first year (however, it is still found in the breastmilk at 12 months). See graph below for the concentrations of myo-inositol over the first year of life. The researchers found that putting this molecule with neurons (translation: brain cells) increased connectivity among these cells

   

   Although we don’t necessarily know that this molecule makes brains more efficient or more intelligent in any way— only that it increases connectivity, this study suggests three important lessons about breastmilk: 1) Breastmilk is likely more than just sustenance and calories for an infant but may provide micronutrients that are involved in brain development, 2) Breastmilk may have the same benefits regardless of diet— the researchers found that the concentration of myo-inositol was the same regardless of a mother’s location or diet, 3) Breastmilk adapts to the baby’s needs over the course of development— this molecule is produced in the highest concentration when the baby needs it the most (when brain cells are forming connections in the first few months of life).

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Welcome to the Parenting Translator newsletter! I am Dr. Cara Goodwin, a licensed psychologist with a PhD in child psychology and mother to three children (currently a 3-year-old, 5-year-old, and 7-year-old). I specialize in taking all of the research that is out there related to parenting and child development and turning it into information that is accurate, relevant, and useful for parents! I recently turned these efforts into a non-profit organization since I believe that all parents deserve access to unbiased and free information. This means that I am only here to help YOU as a parent so please send along any feedback, topic suggestions, or questions that you have! You can also find me on Instagram @parentingtranslator, on TikTok @parentingtranslator, and my website (www.parentingtranslator.com).

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