SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – A new study shows breastfeeding in infancy lowers the risk of a child suffering from depression in adulthood.
German researchers studied 52 people with an average age of 44 who were being treated for severe depression at an inpatient facility. They were compared to 106 people without mental health problems. The study showed that 73% of those who didn't suffer from depression had been breastfed, compared to just 46% of people with depression.
The news doesn’t surprise Natasha Boss. When she found out she was pregnant with her daughter Leah she knew she was going to breastfeed.
“I was determined,” said Boss. “She was going to breastfeed and she was not going to have formula and that's just the way it was going to be."
Natasha was worried about the risks of using formula. Studies have shown it leads to intestinal problems in babies as well as obesity, allergies, diabetes and lower IQ.
Boss said, "It seems that when we veer away from nature we have side effects because of it."
Organizers from the pro-breast feeding group, La Leche League say it's still hard to predict all of the consequences that could result from a failure to breastfeed.
Christy Porucznik said, "More and more we see articles coming out in scientific literature talking about how babies who are not breastfed may suffer from ill effects."
The authors of the recent study claim it’s the first of its kind showing an association between breastfeeding and depression in adulthood, but they admit the sample size was small and more research should be done.
The study is published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.
