Breastfeeding and moms' brains
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Breastfeeding might nourish more than the baby - it can help the mother-child relationship.
Researcher Pilyoung Kim of the National Institute of Mental Health saw this in brain imaging one month after delivery:
``Breastfeeding mothers, compared to exclusively formula-feeding mothers, showed greater responses to their own infant cry sound in brain areas important for care-giving behaviors and empathy.'' (12 seconds)
Kim says breastfeeding might heighten hormones associated with care-giving actions. Breastfeeding moms also showed more care-giving three or four months after delivery.
Kim says the decision on whether to breastfeed is not always easy. She says the study might provide some guidance.
The study was in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.