Breastfeeding and Infants' Time Use is the title of a paper by Jennifer Baxter and Julie Smith from the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The reasons why breastfeeding seems to improve developmental outcomes remain unclear. This paper looks at the hypothesis that breastfed infants may spend their time differently to infants who are not breastfed.
The results of the authors' analysis show that breastfed infants spend more time being held and being read or talked to, and less time sleeping, eating and drinking. They also cried slightly more, and watched television slightly less than infants who were not being breastfed. Those who breastfed spent more time with their parents, and in particular, almost one additional hour a day alone with their mother compared to non-breastfeeding infants. The cognitive advantages this time use may or may not have is posed as a question for future research.
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