Page 104 - GHR_NursingCMU2024_Final.indd

Does Breastfeeding Enhance Mother-Infant Interaction?

1
K. Tanimoto and N. Tokuchi 1

1 School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Japan

Background: Establishing a strong attachment between mother and child is crucial for healthy infant
development. Key nurturing behaviors include breastfeeding and holding, which involve mutual
interactions between mother and infant. It is hypothesized that these interactions are reflected in
synchronized changes in brain activity, particularly enhanced during breastfeeding. However, this
hypothesis has not yet been clearly demonstrated.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that breastfeeding enhances the synchronization of brain activity
between mother and infant, we measured the frontal brain circulation of infants and their mothers,
examining synchrony.

Methods: Using a portable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device, we placed two-channel probes
on infants under five months and their mothers. We measured changes in oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb),
deoxyhemoglobin (deoxyHb), and total hemoglobin (totalHb) concentrations under three conditions:
(1) mother-infant separation, (2) caregiving (holding and soothing the infant without feeding), and
(3) breastfeeding. This non-invasive device assesses blood volume and oxygenation status in tissues.

Results: Both mothers and infants showed the highest changes in oxyHb concentrations in the
prefrontal cortex during separation and the lowest during breastfeeding. Correlation coefficients
of oxyHb values over time for mother-infant pairs were centered around zero, indicating no direct
correlation. However, cross-lagged correlation analysis revealed strong correlations in most
mother-infant pairs, with a median phase lag of 2.3 seconds. During this lag, breastfeeding showed
Oral Presentation Abstracts
the least variability among the three conditions. Additionally, the proportion of strong positive and
negative correlations was highest during breastfeeding.

Conclusion: Our findings support the hypothesis that breastfeeding enhances mother-infant
brain activity synchronization. Cross-lagged correlation analysis indicated strong mother-infant
interactions, peaking at a 2.3-second lag, suggesting that mothers predict or respond to their infants’
reactions. Among the three conditions, breastfeeding showed the smallest time lag, indicating rapid
mutual responses. NIRS effectively evaluated hemodynamics. This study suggests breastfeeding
significantly influences brain circulation interactions.

Keywords: attachement, breastfeeding, mother-infant interaction, brain circulation, NIRS

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Correspondence: Kimie Tanimoto, School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Japan
E-mail: tanimoto.kimie@kagawa-u.ac.jp

102