language development and breastfeeding

[James Morgan]

A substantial number of articles in the pediatric literature report that 
reduced incidence of otitis media is associated with breastfeeding. This is 
probably due to a combination of factors including antibodies passed to the 
child through breast milk and the increased mechanical load in 
breastfeeding relative to bottle feeding, which promotes drainage of the 
Eustachian tubes (infants' Eustacian tubes are narrower and more horizontal 
than adults'). There is at least a weak relation between incidence of OME 
in infancy and phonological and lexical measures of language development.

-- Jim Morgan

At 05:04 PM 3/22/2006, leah gedalyovich wrote:
>dear all,
>this question came up from a discussion with a friend who is a lactation 
>consultant. there seems to be a given that breastfeeding is better than 
>any other alternative for virtually every aspect of development. is there 
>any published research on the relationship between breastfeeding and 
>language development? if any relationship is found is it attributed to 
>nutritional issues or to other issues (emotional, sensori-motor, etc)
>i will post  a summary if there are replies.
>thanx!
>leah gedalyovich
>
>