Associations Between Breastfeeding, Maternal Emotional Availability, and Infant-Mother Attachment: The Role of Coparenting.
Christine Youngwon Kim, Nicole P Smith, Douglas M Teti
PMID 38770794WHAT IT FOUND
Exclusive breastfeeding by 6 months and longer duration across the first year were associated with higher observed infant attachment security, partly through more emotionally available caregiving.
For duration, the indirect link was seen only when mothers felt low partner support.
Key findings
01Breastfeeding status by 6 months and breastfeeding duration across the first year were each directly associated with higher infant-mother attachment security.
02Both breastfeeding status and duration were also indirectly associated with attachment through maternal emotional availability.
03For breastfeeding duration, the indirect association with attachment through emotional availability was seen only when perceived coparenting quality was low.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was an observational association study, not a randomized comparison, so it cannot show that breastfeeding caused higher attachment security. Breastfeeding was defined by mothers' own reports and did not distinguish direct nursing, pumping, or donor milk. The sample was largely White and limited to heterosexual two-parent households, so results may not generalize to other families or support networks. Nine dyads were excluded for incomplete breastfeeding data, although the remaining sample did not differ demographically from the original 167. Coparenting was measured only as mother-reported support from the father in the same household, so support from other caregivers was not captured. Data were collected from 2009 to 2012, which may differ from current care contexts.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development under grant R01HD052809, awarded to the third author. The authors declared student-advisor relationships among the author team; no commercial sponsor is described in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that breastfeeding causes more secure attachment or that not breastfeeding harms attachment. This was an observational association study, and the breastfeeding link was seen mainly through emotional availability and was strongest when mothers felt low partner support, so partner support may be important alongside feeding method.