Children breast-fed as infants are less likely to
wet the bed later on, researchers reported, probably
because they have a developmental edge.
There is strong evidence that in many cases bed-wetting
can "result from delayed neurodevelopment," said the
report from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
"There is biological plausibility in inferring that
breast-feeding protects against bed-wetting and our
results show a strong statistical association" although
not enough to prove a direct cause-effect, the study
said.
Breast-feeding is beneficial because of the role
that certain fatty acids passed onto the infant play
in brain development, said the study published in
the July issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
The study was based on 55 children who were bed-wetters
at ages 5 to 13 and 117 in the same age range who
were not. Of the bed-wetters, 45 percent had been
breast-fed, compared to 81 percent of those who were
continent at night. The study also found that babies
who received breast milk supplemented with formula
had a similar rate of bed-wetting as those who received
formula alone.
