A baby's nutrients for the first four to six months of life come from either human milk or a formula alternative. Lately, the consensus has been that breastfeeding is better for infants, and makes them smarter.
Does breastfeeding really make babies smarter?
Studies have shown that exclusive breastfeeding for at least 3 months and prolonged breastfeeding for at least 1 year makes kids smarter. 14,000 groups of mother/children pairs were split into two groups. The first group received routine maternity care and the second group received breastfeeding encouragement and support. The breastfeeding encouraged group, breastfed longer and were less likely to give any formula from a bottle. Children from both groups were followed for the first 6 1/2 years of life. The children from the breastfeeding encouraged group scored approximately 5 percent higher on IQ tests and did better academically.
Is is really the breastfeeding or are the mothers different?
Mothers who breast feed tend to have similar characteristics than mothers that do not. The mothers that breast feed tent to be smarter, be more invested in their babies, tend to interact with them more, tend to read to them more, spend more time with their kids, and play with them more. Women who are least likely to breast feed include mothers who work full-time outside the home, mothers under the age of 25, mothers without a high school education, African American mothers, and mothers in a low-income circumstances.
How breastfeeding makes children more intelligent is unclear. It could be because breast feeding takes longer, which means the more is interacting more with the baby, talking to the baby, and soothing the baby. It could be emotional or physical. It could be a hormone that is absorbed through the breast milk that is not found in formula.
My opinion.....
I do not believe that breastfeeding has any indication on the intelligence of a child. My mom tried to breastfed during the first week of my life, in the end I was fed formula. I have never been IQ tested, nor have I been compared to someone who was breastfed. However, I graduated with a 3.926 and #4 in my class from high school. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from college, and I currently have 4.0 in grad school. I am aware that their are people in the world that are smarter than me, but I think I am pretty intelligent to not have been breastfed.
What do you think?
Sources:
Are Breastfed Babies Smarter? baby gooroo. (n.d.). baby gooroo Breastfeeding Information and Child Nutrition. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://www.babygooroo.com/index.php/2008/05/11/are-breastfed-babies-smarter/
Santrock, J. W. (2008). Life-Span Development (12 ed.). Dubuque: Mcgraw-Hill Higher Education -A.
Study shows breast-fed children are smarter « Maternity Cares. (n.d.). Maternity Cares. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://pregnancynews.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/study- shows-breast-fed-children-are-smarter/
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I feel that there are so many factors that affect childrens' growth and development that singling out breastfeeding is a mistake. There are certainly mothers out there who didn't breastfeed due to circumstances and/or the personal choice not to breastfeed but still bonded well and interacted in crucial areas in the baby's life and produced a very intelligent and emotionally stable child.
ReplyDeleteMark M.
I have a daughter who is now an adult that was not breast fed. Due to my immaturity and impatience when pushed to try. We bonded well and she has grown up to be a well rounded and intelligent lady.
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