Autism + Breastfeeding: What’s the Connection? By: Emma Patterson RN, BSN

ASD is characterized by restrictive and repetitive behaviors as well as moderate to severe difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication (Cheng et al., 2019).  Autism is caused by an interaction of both genetic and environmental factors in up to 80 percent of cases (Jenabi et al., 2023). One environmental factor with the potential to directly affect a child’s risk for ASD is breastfeeding. With more evidence emerging in support of breastfeeding as a protective factor against ASD and autism rates rising in the U.S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023a)  it is now more imperative than ever for mothers to understand the protection breastfeeding can offer their child.

Currently in the U.S.

         Autism according to the CDC…

• As of 2020, 1 in 36 children were diagnosed with ASD in the U.S. (CDC, 2023a).
• Numbers of children with ASD in the U.S. have increased drastically over the last 20 years going from 1 in 150 in the year 2000 to the 1 in 36 that was reported in 2020 (CDC, 2023a).

Breastfeeding according to the CDC…

• The CDC reports of infants born in 2020, 83.1% report ever breastfeeding after birth but by 6 months of age only 25.4% report exclusive breastfeeding (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023b).
• Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. have remained nearly unchanged since 2013 with rates fluctuating up or down by only a few percentage points each year (CDC, 2023b).
• The current rates fall significantly short of the Healthy People 2030 goal for at least 42.4% of infants to continue exclusively breastfeeding through 6 months of age (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n..)
• This goal stems from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that infants exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months after birth (Meek et al., 2022).

See You Next Week

         Come back next week for a more comprehensive discussion on breastfeeding and the benefits it can provide to infants. Until then check out the links below.

Here to Help: Helpful Links + Online Resources