Association between breastfeeding indicators and early childhood development: results from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition Associação entre indicadores de aleitamento materno e desenvolvimento infantil: resultados do Estudo Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição Infantil Asociación entre los indicadores de lactancia materna y el desarrollo en la primera infancia: resultados del Estudio Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición Infantil
4 affiliations
- 1Instituto de Nutrição Josué de Castro, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
- 2Faculdade de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brasil.
- 3Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brasil.
- 4Instituto de Nutrição, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Abstract
We evaluated the association between breastfeeding indicators and early childhood development (ECD) among Brazilian children. Data from 5,766 children aged 1-23 months from the ENANI-2019 were analyzed. Breastfeeding indicators followed WHO recommendations: (1) 1-5 months: exclusive, predominant, or mixed breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and no breastfeeding; (2) 1-23 months: breastmilk intake and baby bottle use on the previous day. ECD was evaluated with the SWYC-BR. Developmental age was estimated using graded response models, and the developmental quotient (DQ) was calculated by dividing developmental age by chronological age. Multiple linear regression models were fitted. The mean (95%CI) DQ was higher among exclusively breastfed children aged 1-5 months [1.94 (1.72; 2.16)] than those receiving complementary feeding [1.56 (1.46; 1.67)]. Among children aged 1-23 months, DQ was higher in those receiving breastmilk [1.29 (1.24; 1.34)] than those not receiving it [0.99 (0.97; 1.00)], and in those who did not use a baby bottle on the previous day [1.38 (1.31; 1.45)] than in those who did [1.21 (1.17; 1.25)]. In the multiple regression models (β and 95%CI), exclusive breastfeeding was positively associated with DQ among children aged 1-5 months (β = 0.284; 0.093; 0.476, p = 0.004). Among children 1-23 months, receiving breastmilk (β = 0.195; 0.138; 0.252, p < 0.001) and not using a baby bottle on the previous day (β = 0.165; 0.093; 0.237, p < 0.001) were positively associated with DQ. Breastfeeding practices recommended by the WHO were positively associated with DQ.
Related
- GESTÃO DA CONFORMIDADE REGULATÓRIA EM SERVIÇOS DE HEMOTERAPIA: DESENVOLVIMENTO E APLICAÇÃO DE INDICADORES ESTRATÉGICOS
- FLUXO DA NAVEGAÇÃO ASSISTENCIAL DE PACIENTES E DOADORES APARENTADOS NA FASE PRÉ-TRANSPLANTE DE CÉLULAS-TRONCO HEMATOPOÉTICAS: INDICADORES ASSISTENCIAIS E VULNERABILIDADES NO CONTEXTO DO PROGRAMA DE APOIO AO DESENVOLVIMENTO INSTITUCIONAL DO SISTEMA
- The influence of breastfeeding and pacifier use on the association between preterm birth and primary-dentition malocclusion: A population-based birth cohort study
- Development and validation of the booklet “Home Exercise for Children and Adolescents with CharcotMarie-Tooth Disease” Desenvolvimento e validação da cartilha “Exercícios Domiciliares para Crianças e Adolescentes com doença de Charcot-Marie-Tooth”
- Unintended Pregnancies and Breastfeeding Studies during Central Nervous System Drug Development: How Are they Handled, Is There Room for Improvement?: Maintaining the Gap: Pregnancy and Breastfeeding in CNS Clinical Trials.
BibTeX
@article{freitascosta2026association,
title = {{Association between breastfeeding indicators and early childhood development: results from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition Associação entre indicadores de aleitamento materno e desenvolvimento infantil: resultados do Estudo Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição Infantil Asociación entre los indicadores de lactancia materna y el desarrollo en la primera infancia: resultados del Estudio Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición Infantil}},
author = {Nathalia Cristina Freitas-Costa and Davi Borges Damasceno and Juliana Vieira de Castro Mello and Raquel Machado Schincaglia and Dayana Rodrigues Farias and Nadya Helena Alves-Santos and Paula Normando and Inês Rugani Ribeiro de Castro and Gilberto Kac},
journal = {Cadernos de saude publica},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1590/0102-311xen244225},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13706636},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Association between breastfeeding indicators and early childhood development: results from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition Associação entre indicadores de aleitamento materno e desenvolvimento infantil: resultados do Estudo Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição Infantil Asociación entre los indicadores de lactancia materna y el desarrollo en la primera infancia: resultados del Estudio Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición Infantil
AU - Nathalia Cristina Freitas-Costa
AU - Davi Borges Damasceno
AU - Juliana Vieira de Castro Mello
AU - Raquel Machado Schincaglia
AU - Dayana Rodrigues Farias
AU - Nadya Helena Alves-Santos
AU - Paula Normando
AU - Inês Rugani Ribeiro de Castro
AU - Gilberto Kac
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Cadernos de saude publica
DO - 10.1590/0102-311xen244225
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13706636
AB - We evaluated the association between breastfeeding indicators and early childhood development (ECD) among Brazilian children. Data from 5,766 children aged 1-23 months from the ENANI-2019 were analyzed. Breastfeeding indicators followed WHO recommendations: (1) 1-5 months: exclusive, predominant, or mixed breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and no breastfeeding; (2) 1-23 months: breastmilk intake and baby bottle use on the previous day. ECD was evaluated with the SWYC-BR. Developmental age was estimated using graded response models, and the developmental quotient (DQ) was calculated by dividing developmental age by chronological age. Multiple linear regression models were fitted. The mean (95%CI) DQ was higher among exclusively breastfed children aged 1-5 months [1.94 (1.72; 2.16)] than those receiving complementary feeding [1.56 (1.46; 1.67)]. Among children aged 1-23 months, DQ was higher in those receiving breastmilk [1.29 (1.24; 1.34)] than those not receiving it [0.99 (0.97; 1.00)], and in those who did not use a baby bottle on the previous day [1.38 (1.31; 1.45)] than in those who did [1.21 (1.17; 1.25)]. In the multiple regression models (β and 95%CI), exclusive breastfeeding was positively associated with DQ among children aged 1-5 months (β = 0.284; 0.093; 0.476, p = 0.004). Among children 1-23 months, receiving breastmilk (β = 0.195; 0.138; 0.252, p < 0.001) and not using a baby bottle on the previous day (β = 0.165; 0.093; 0.237, p < 0.001) were positively associated with DQ. Breastfeeding practices recommended by the WHO were positively associated with DQ.
SN - 0102-311X
SN - 1678-4464
ER -