Breastfeeding may protect against persistent stuttering

•Breastfeeding may play a role in neurodevelopment and gene expression.•We investigated the feeding history of 47 children with developmental stuttering.•For boys, longer breastfeeding duration was tied to improved odds of recovery.•This effect was not related to early problems with oral motor sequencing.•These findings may be significant for stuttering prevention and research.

PurposeThis study investigated the hypothesis that breastfeeding in infancy might protect against persistent stuttering in children.MethodWe collected new data from the mothers of current and past participants in the Illinois Stuttering Research Program on their children's feeding history during infancy. We obtained 47 usable responses, for 17 children with persistent stuttering and 30 children who recovered naturally after a period of stuttering.ResultsA chi-squared test for linear trend revealed a significant relationship between breastfeeding duration and the likelihood of natural recovery for the boys in the sample. Mothers of children in the persistent group were no more likely to report early feeding difficulties which might have suggested an underlying oral motor deficit in children predisposed toward persistent stuttering.ConclusionsOur results offer preliminary support for the idea that breastfeeding may confer a measure of protection against persistent stuttering. The fatty acid profile of human milk, with its potential to affect both gene expression and the composition of neural tissue, may explain this association. Further research is called for.Learning outcomes: The reader will be able to discuss at least one reason why human milk may make a difference in neurodevelopment generally and with regard to stuttering outcomes specifically. Additionally, the reader will be able to describe the relationship between breastfeeding duration and stuttering recovery observed in this sample.