Children who are breastfed exclusively for the first three months of life score
higher on IQ tests at the age of six than other children, according to a study conducted
by researchers from McGill University in Canada and published in the Archives of
General Psychiatry.
"Long-term, exclusive breastfeeding appears to improve children's cognitive
development," lead researcher Michael Kramer said.
The researchers examined approximately 14,000 children born in hospitals in Belarus.
Because breastfeeding often
takes place more often among people of more affluent backgrounds, prior studies have
struggled to separate the effects of wealth from that of breastfeeding specifically. The
researchers picked many of the hospitals
in the current study because they run programs designed to increase breastfeeding among
women of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
They found that children who were breastfed exclusively for the first three months of life
had IQ scores an average of 5.9 points
higher, when tested at the age of six, than children who had not been exclusively
breastfed. Children in the breastfeeding group were also rated higher by their teachers in
both academic reading and writing ability.
"This research certainly increases the evidence about the impact of
breastfeeding," said Rosie Dodds of the U.K.'s National Childbirth Trust. "And I
think what we now need is more effort put into supporting it."
While the British government recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months,
only one in four mothers do so.
The researchers noted that they were unable to determine, however, whether it was some
ingredient or ingredients of the breast
milk that led to the improved cognitive development observed, or if the benefit
instead came from the increased closeness between mother and infant that arises from
breastfeeding.
"It remains unclear whether the observed cognitive benefits of breastfeeding are due
to some constituents of breast milk or are related to the physical and social interactions
inherent in breastfeeding," Kramer said. (naturalnews, 10.13.2008, David
Gutierrez)
Sources for this story include: www.news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.naturalnews.com/024474.html