Does breastfeeding account for the association between maternal sensitivity and infant cognitive development in a large, nationally representative cohort?

Abstract

Background: Previous research has established that exposure to high maternal sensitivity is positively associated with advances in infant cognitive development. However, there are many fixed and modifiable factors that influence this association. This study investigates whether the association between maternal sensitivity and infant cognitive development in the first year of life is accounted for by other factors, such as breastfeeding, maternal depressive symptoms, maternal alcohol use, infant birth weight or demographic covariates. Methods: Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth (ECLS-B) Cohort, a nationally representative sample of U.S. born children, multi-variable regression analyses was used to examine whether breastfeeding, maternal depressive symptoms and alcohol use were associated with maternal sensitivity, as measured by the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), and with infant cognitive development, as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Short Form, Research Edition, after controlling for demographic covariates (infant sex, maternal age, education, race/ethnicity, income, parity, family structure) and infant birth weight. Results: Breastfeeding, depressive symptoms and alcohol use were not associated with maternal sensitivity scores after controlling for demographic covariates and infant birth weight. However, breastfeeding (β =.079, p