Health and Nutrition
'Natural' for breastfed babies to cry more
Babies who are breastfed are more likely to be irritable than bottle-fed babies, according to a new study.
Nreastfed babies ar emore likely to be irritable, but researchers say this is 'natural'
However, the Medical Research Council say that this irritability is not a sign of stress and should not deter women from breastfeeding.
A team from the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, analysed data from the Cambridge Baby Growth Study (2008-2013), an ongoing study that follows 4,000 children from birth to two-years-old, to determine the relationship between baby growth and obesity and diabetes in adulthood.
The researchers focused on measurements including weight, height, food patterns and temperament, taken from 316 babies at three-months-old.
They found that mothers were more likely to report that their children cried more and were harder to soothe if they were breastfed as opposed to bottle-fed.
However, they claim that irritability is a natural part of the ‘dynamic communication’ between mothers and babies who are breastfed, and that while bottle-fed babies may appear more content, previous studies suggest that these children may be over-nourished and gain weight too quickly.
Dr Ken Ong, a paediatrician, who led the research, said, ‘There is an overwhelming body of evidence supporting breastfeeding as the normal and most healthy form of infant nutrition and our findings do not contradict this.
‘Our findings are essentially similar to other stages of life; people often find that eating is comforting.’
He added, ‘Rather than being put off breast-feeding, parents should have more realistic expectations of normal infant behaviour and should receive better understanding and support to cope with difficult infant behaviours if needed. These approaches could potentially promote successful breastfeeding, because currently many mothers attempt to breastfeed but give up after the first few weeks.’
