Breast-feeding lifts the spirits of new mothers naturally

 By Marilyn Elias

USA Today

March 18, 2002

 Barcelona ‚ Breast-feeding apparently is a strong antidepressant.  
Mothers who don¼t breast-feed at all during, a baby¼s first year are 
almost twice as likely to be depressed as moms who have nursed, a 
researcher reported over the weekend.

And the outcome is not because women with better mental health 
are more likely to nurse, says psychologist Elizabeth Mezzacappa of 
Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.  She 
presented her findings at the American Psychosomatic Society 
meeting here.

„If a woman has pre-existing mental illness, this won¼t cure her, but 
for garden variety moms, it can make a big difference,¾ Mezzacappa 
says.

About one out of 10 U.S. women develop clinical depression within 
six weeks of their baby¼s birth, she says.

Using a large federal health survey, Mezzacappa looked at the link 
between mothers¼ mental health and nursing during the first year of 
their babies¼ lives.  She then checked their depression levels three 
years after birth.  The mothers filled out questionnaires and were 
interviewed on their symptoms of depression.

In the first survey, the 605 women who exclusively bottle-fed had 
almost twice the depression rate of the 378 mothers who had done 
some breast-feeding, even briefly.

 But three years after childbirth, with findings available from 509 
bottle-feeding and 333 nursing mothers, there was no difference in 
their depression levels.

Mezzacappa took into account key factors known to affect mental 
health, such as work and marital status, number of children, 
education and income level.

Breast-feeding appears to give new mothers a mood boost that 
disappears after the baby is weaned, she says.  The most likely 
cause is oxytocin, a hormone released in nursing that is known to 
have an antidepressant effect, Mezzacappa says.  Depressed people 
have low oxytocin levels, she adds.

 The oxytocin-fueled mood lift probably evolved to promotes 
survival of the species, Mezzacappa suggests.

„It¼s as though the baby has to do something to reward the mother 
for breast-feeding because in ancient times, babies died if their 
moms didn¼t bond with and nurse them,¾ she says.

About seven out of 10 US mothers start breast-feeding in the 
hospital, but only three in 10 are still doing it six months later, 
says Lawrence Gartner, an emeritus pediatrics professor at the 
University of Chicago Medical School and an expert on breast-
feeding.  The American Academy of Pediatrics advises at least 12 
months of breast- feeding.

 Recent trends are pro-breast-feeding, Gartner says.  In 1970, only 
one out of four U.S. women even started at the hospital, and less that 
one in 20 still nursed when babies were 6 months old, he says.

„There¼s a learning curve here, and it does get easier over timeä  
About half of mothers need some help.  But because breast-feeding 
became so unpopular, we lost several generations of knowledge.  
Many women breast=feeding now have never seen a woman do it,¾ 
Gartner says.

Returning to work makes nursing harder, he adds.  But some large 
corporations are providing breast pumps, as well as places and time 
for new moms to express milk so they can continue to nurse.  Among 
the businesses Gartner named:  Eastman-Kodak Co. and Cigna Corp.