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Short‐term influence of breastfeeding on the infants' interaction with the environment
Author(s) -
Gerrish Carolyn J.,
Mennella Julie A.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(200001)36:1<40::aid-dev5>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , weaning , psychology , developmental psychology , breast feeding , medicine , pediatrics
The present study tested the hypothesis that around the age of weaning, human infants are more interactive with their environment immediately after breastfeeding. To this aim, we assessed 4‐ to 6‐month‐old infants' responsiveness to a rotating, musical mobile before breastfeeding on one test day, and after breastfeeding on another. Thirteen infants, fitted with miniature movement detectors on both their left leg and wrist, were videotaped for 4 consecutive min during which the mobile was alternately switched on and off in 1‐min intervals. Although the infants showed no significant differences in limb activity as a function of the timing of a breastfeed, they looked at the mobile significantly longer when tested after breastfeeding. This finding suggests that breastfeeding has a substantial effect on 4‐ to 6‐month‐old infants' attentiveness to and interaction with their environment. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 36: 40–48, 2000