Duration of Breastfeeding and Supportive Paternal Caregiving in Early Childhood and the Potential Mediating Function of Maternal Caregiving.

OBJECTIVE: Supportive paternal caregiving is influenced by contextual factors, including maternal caregiving behaviors. Although longer periods of breastfeeding have been found to be associated with higher levels of maternal supportive parenting, it remains unknown whether the benefits of breastfeeding also extend to fathers' supportive caregiving. This study tested the indirect relation between the duration of breastfeeding and paternal supportive parenting through maternal supportive parenting. METHODS: Participating families (N = 623) were from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, a population-based longitudinal study in Southeast Norway. Path analysis was used to test associations between the duration of breastfeeding in the first year (parent report) and paternal supportive parenting (observed, 36 months), as potentially mediated by maternal supportive parenting (observed, 24 months). RESULTS: After controlling for sociodemographic and birth factors, a longer duration of breastfeeding was indirectly associated with higher levels of observed paternal supportive parenting through maternal supportive parenting. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that the longer breastfeeding duration during the first year of life (i.e., infancy) might have important implications for both maternal and paternal supportive parenting in toddlerhood.

Duration of Breastfeeding Mediates the Association Between Early Socioeconomic Risk and Child Vocabulary at Age 4.

OBJECTIVE: Early-life socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with both obesity and lower cognitive abilities in childhood. One theorized underlying mechanism is breastfeeding duration because breast milk contains nutrients that can promote healthy adiposity profiles and stimulate brain development. However, studies have rarely examined these potential associations with child body mass index (BMI) in high-income Western countries, much less investigated breastfeeding duration as a mediator of the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and later child vocabulary. The current study aimed to prospectively examine associations between early-life family socioeconomic risk and both child BMI and vocabulary at age 4 in a Norwegian cohort and the potential mediating contribution of breastfeeding duration. METHODS: The Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study (BONDS) followed 1159 families and their children from 6 months of age onward. Parents reported on SES and breastfeeding duration in infancy, and child BMI and vocabulary ability were assessed at age 4. Direct and indirect effects were estimated using a path model that adjusted for several demographic and perinatal covariates (e.g., parental nativity and birthweight). RESULTS: Family socioeconomic risk was significantly and negatively related to child vocabulary but was unrelated to child BMI. In addition, breastfeeding duration mediated the association between family socioeconomic risk and child vocabulary, with greater family socioeconomic risk associated with a shorter breastfeeding duration, which, in turn, predicted poorer child vocabulary. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that longer breastfeeding duration is a viable target for preventatively promoting child vocabulary, especially among families at socioeconomic risk.