Maternal media device use during breastfeeding and infants' social and emotional development

Breastfeeding has demonstrable positive effects on infant social and emotional development. This may be due to various behaviours occurring during breastfeeding such as maternal sensitivity and responsiveness to the infant's cues, mutual gaze, and mother-infant synchrony. However, these intricate behavioural patterns may be hindered by maternal use of media devices during breastfeeding. This paper reviews the recent evidence on maternal use of media devices during breastfeeding and its effects on mother-infant interaction, mother-to-infant bonding, and infant attachment. The evidence suggests that media device use during breastfeeding increases maternal distraction and lowers the maternal sensitivity and responsiveness towards an infant, behaviours that are foundational blocks of the infant's social and emotional development.