Posted on 10/03/2006 8:44:58 PM PDT by blam
Breast milk 'does not boost IQ'
Breastfed babies tend to be brighter
Breastfed babies are smarter because their mothers are clever in the first place, not because of any advantage of breastfeeding itself, a study suggests. Researchers found breastfeeding mothers tend to be more intelligent, more highly educated, and likely to provide a more stimulating home environment.
However, they stressed that there were still many advantages to breastfeeding.
The British Medical Journal study was carried out by the Medical Research Council and University of Edinburgh.
Lead researcher Geoff Der said: "This question has been debated ever since a link between the two [high IQ and breastfeeding] was first discovered in 1929.
"Breastfed children do tend to score higher on intelligence tests, but they also tend to come from more advantaged backgrounds."
The researchers analysed data from more than 5,000 children and 3,000 mothers in the USA.
They found that mothers who breastfeed tend to be more intelligent, and when this fact was taken into account, most of the relationship between breastfeeding and the child's intelligence disappeared.
The rest was accounted for by other aspects of the family background.
Sibling comparison
The researchers also looked at families where one child was breastfed and another was not.
This confirmed the earlier results - the breastfed child was no more intelligent than his or her sibling.
Putting the results together with other studies that measured the mother's IQ confirmed this pattern.
Mr Der said: "This research shows that intelligence is determined by factors other than breastfeeding.
"But breastfeeding has many benefits for both mother and child. It's definitely the smart thing to do."
Breastfeeding has been linked to a range of health benefits.
Just one day of breastfeeding is thought to be enough to stabilise a baby's blood sugar levels, and provide natural antibodies against disease.
Breastfed babies have been shown to be less prone to diarrhoea, vomiting, and respiratory infections. Breastfeeding may also have a long impact on reducing blood pressure and obesity.
The World Health Organization recommends that babies should be breastfed for at least the first two years.
Low rates
The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe - almost a third of women in England and Wales never try to breastfeed, compared with just 2% in Sweden.
Rosie Dodds, of the National Childbirth Trust, said the study was not conclusive.
She said a study in the Philippines - where, unlike the West, poorer women are more likely to breastfeed - showed that breastfed children were likely to be more intelligent.
However she added: "Women do not breastfeed because of any benefit to their baby, they do it because it feels like the natural thing to do.
"It is important that women make a decision that is right for them, and their family, and they should not be pressurised either way, but we would like to see more support for women who do decide they want to breastfeed."
A Department of Health spokesperson said breastfeeding is the best form of nutrition for infants.
"We know that the composition of breast milk meets the individual needs of each baby and that as a result breastfeeding can make a major contribution to public health."
Milk does a body good.
Darn....but I keep trying....
Baby: "It can't hurt, can it?"
I was only successful in breast-feeding one of my 6 children.
A breast specialist has confirmed that I have an inflammatory problem that prevents me from comfortably feeding my children this way. The result is that I usually could not handle it past 1 week and would start bottle feeding.
There was no difference in the intelligence or health between my breast fed baby and the others.
I guess it's not good enough that breast feeding has worked for thousands of years.
No offense intended to all of those wonderful mothers that choose not to breast feed for any reason. You probably know better than me, I just a hard headed guy.
This doesn't really surprise me. Though I breastfed all of my children I have always believed that studies of intelligence, behavior etc. are not controlled enough for socioeconomic factors-they can't be, let's face it, crack babies aren't breastfed. That's the extreme I realize, but the point is it's very hard to attribute intellience to one factor or another when so many factors are in play.
There are however medical benfits to breastfeeding in terms of fewer illnesses, infections etc. that I do not believe can be attributed solely to environment. At the very least premature babies who are fed breastmilk fare better than those who aren't, I would tend to think this is too early for socioeconomic factors to come into play. There must be some physiological benefit to feeding children the way nature intended.
Just don't tell your honey.
Okay....I promise to never tell her that it won't improve my IQ....
Breastfeeding is at the least easier on the babies digestive tract.
It's far more convenient that carrying around bottles and getting up in the middle of the night to heat up foul smelling formula just to have the baby throw it up all over the place.
It's lots cheaper, too.
I nursed all three of mine and none of them have the food allergies that both my husband and I have. Both of us were raised on the *better living through chemistry* philosophy; either formula or Pet Evaporated Milk mixed with water.
I simply don't understand how anyone could think anything is better than, or even equal to, mother's milk. It's designed to provide the perfect nutrition for the baby of any species
Um. Because it is?
ping! Your subject! LOL ;0)
And... the packaging is FAR more attractive! :)
~GCR~
LOL
It is wise to prevent infants from ever coming in contact with a breast.
So? Whoever posted this is an idiot.Please post something that is relevant. Not some knee jerk science,You read in in the tabloids...
Breastfeeding ping!
I don't know about milk but the container can sure make some folks do some really stupid things.
Damn - Guess I can stop now.
More liberal socialist bunk.
Not only does it boost IQ, it boosts the immune system, and never fails to boost the libidinal system.
Female Breasts are the best thing that has ever happened to the human race. Evolution has proven that to be true.
I'm not metmom, but I'd like to add my experience.
My husband and I both have seasonal allergies and my older son (breastfed for most of 6 months, but not exclusively- he got formula at 6 weeks and cereal also at 6 weeks in an effort to get him to sleep) was allergic to milk and suffered from eczema and numerous ear infections as a baby. By 3 years old he had asthma.
When I got pregnant the second time, I had read enough about allergies to believe it seemed reasonable to at least try to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. The hardest thing about it was resisting pressure from my in laws. Luckily they didn't live nearby!
My second son is healthier in every measure than my first. But the two children are very different in almost every respect, so it may not have been the breastfeeding. I'm glad I did it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I would definitely consider it if there is a family history of allergies.
Who cares... I love it very much...
The fact that there is even a debate about whether breastfeeding is better for children or not is evidence that many people do not have the common sense God gave them.
To think that any formula would be as good as natural mothers' milk is like thinking that vitamins, fats, proteins and carbohydrates manufactured in a factory would be just as healthful and nutritious as food actually grown in the dirt.
Besides, babies and moms benefit from the warmth and closeness nursing provides. I've seen tiny babies propped with with pillows and a bottle stuck in their mouths. They look very lonely.
I'm allergic to citrus; tomatoes, and all citrus fruits. I break out from some sharp cheeses. I am allergic to salmon and maybe some other fish. Chocolate :((
I think I was allergic to the formula because my mother said I threw it up constantly (which can be a sign of food allergies). I've tested allergic to corn and grapes but can eat both.
According to my allergist, anyone can develop food allergies to any thing and they can come and go. If you avoid something for 6 mos to a year, you should be able to eat it again in limited quantities, except for really severe allergies or something like peanuts. Some stuff is much worst than others, for some reason.
Colostrum, which is what the mother produces first, helps seal off the lining of the stomach and intestines in something called *gut closure*. It helps prevent larger proteins from passing through the intestinal wall and causing an allergic reaction.
All I know is that I've got three very healthy kids with no food allergies even coming from a strong family tendency towards it.
About a year before I had my first, I ran across an article in Science News magazine (that would be about 1987 sometime), that stated that alternating feedings of breast milk and formula may actually cause worse allergies than just formula feeding. There's something about changing from one to the other within a short period of time that the babies system cannot tolerate. IIRC, it puts a strain on their digestive tract to constantly have to adjust to digesting different kinds of substances. Even a few weeks of breastfeeding can be beneficial. I know some people can't manage it but even to do it a little before switching over helps.
I know of a kid who has the absolute worst food allergies I've ever known (anaphylactic shock) and his mother did this and is blaming herself now.
My son, who was breastfed a long time, had problems with ear infections for one year, also. We don't know what caused it.
I had the same problem with my m-i-l about breastfeeding. I was also glad they lived further away.
Both our kids were breastfed by my slender little wife who produced so much cream that the little tykes were little rolly polly bundles of joy.
I gained a whole new respect for women, after that, as a much younger man. Healthy? Those babies GLOWED!
And M-i-L who object to such a traditional regime simply are either liberal socialists who are disconnected from the primordial knowledge of true womenhood, or who do not have the common sense that is G-Ds gift to men and women of the human race.
Imean , I am ALL for the stablishment of a Republican Lactation Nation!
The whole breast feeding phenomenon is simply a natural miracle. As a man, I am almost jealous, but not quite. Such a wonderful thing!
I REALLY laugh at those who debate Breast feeding. Its the natural right of every little person who comes into the world as far as I am concerned.
Long Live Lactation, and may the Mothers Milk of mankind always flow!
What is it about mothers-in-law? I got the pressure too, though my mom also pressured me not to breastfeed. Unfortunately, I gave in to both of them (both lived near me), and ended up formula-feeding my son. Fortunately, he has no allergies, and he is quite smart. In fact, he's rarely been sick. My sister, however, breastfed both her kids and they both seem to miss school more than my son ever did. In our cases, I think other factors played a roll in our children's health. Breastfeeding is still best and, if given the chance to go back, I'd definitely breastfeed.
I've never heard that! What was so dumb about it was they were just coming out with the powdered formula so I had a ton of free coupons. I got a can, gave him one bottle out of it, and the rest was going to go to waste, so I started mixing it, daily, with his cereal.
Within a couple of weeks he had an ear infection, within a couple of more weeks, he wasn't sleeping and cried, I SWEAR, constantly!
After 2 months of this, I called my mom in Ohio (we were living in Maine), sobbed and begged her to send us a plane ticket because my husband was going out to sea. I was terrified I was going to hurt my son if I had to be alone with him and cooped up in the house.
My mom immediately arranged a ticket and reassurred me and helped me the whole way through. She knew immediately that he just wasn't acting normally, so we started looking into the formula and foods, etc.
All of that because I didn't want to waste an expensive, but free to me, product!
My older brother was fed formula, and I was breastfed. He was a fat little chunk of a kid, even though my mother didn't feed us junk food, but I never had any weight problems in my life until I hit my 30's. Also, although I developed nasty allergies later on, I was allergy-free and quite healthy until I was about six.
As for the intelligence thing ... I will say that I did much better in school than my brother. He had problems learning to read, whereas I took to it like a duck to water. OTOH, I had a great old-style teacher who taught us phonics, but he had a teacher who taught that asinine "see and say" method (i.e., learning words by rote rather than breaking down their components and sounding them out).
If God had wanted women to breast feed, He would have given them breasts.
Painting the child's room in bright colors, particularly a lot of orange, allegedly improves IQ.
My m-i-l pressured me not to breastfeed. My husband and I think it was out of guilt. We were telling her the reasons we were going to do it and we think she felt bad about the thought of giving my husband his milk allergies.
You should have seen the meltdown when we decided to homeschool.....
Fun facts about breastfeeding:
Breast milk can cure ear infections
Breast milk cures Giardia lamblia
A lactating mother produces terbafine, which is the active ingredient in Lamisil.
some body builders pay cash for breast milk.
Exactly so.
"No offense intended to all of those wonderful mothers that choose not to breast feed for any reason. You probably know better than me, I just a hard headed guy"
I'm just thankful I live during a time where baby formula and bottles are available.
I wouldn't have done well in the old days :)
"You know what I find ironic? People won't feed animals stuff that's artifical because it's not good for them. There are folks who won't feed hummingbirds red colored sugar water, but will stick it in their kids bottles. If it's not OK to do it to animals how can people justify it for their own children?"
Don't you think this is a bit extreme?
I tried - but I couldn't do it.
Some women do not produce enough milk.
Some women are on medication that prevents them from passing the drug along through breastfeeding.
Some people adopt babies and have to bottlefeed.
To equate bottlefeeding with red sugar water is a little strange.
I breastfed both of my boys, because well, it just seemed to be the natural thing to do...human mothers milk for human babies, just seemed right...and for me and my boys, it was just right...
No bottles, no mixing of formula and no cost...I got to spend super extra time cuddling my babies, the skin on skin contact was most excellent, and I just felt I was giving my babies the most perfect food I could give for this, the very beginning of their lives...I saw all advantages in breastfeeding, and no advantages...
Well, there was always one small disadvantage...after I had weaned my babies, every time I heard a small baby cry, whether in the store, or at church or anywhere else, I would begin to leak milk...it was just a natural response...and truly this went on for not just weeks or months...it actually went on for a couple of years, before it finally stopped...hear a baby cry, leak milk...
Even today, tho my sons are grown, whenever I hear a newborn baby crying, my boobs feel like they want to leak, its just a feeling, the same feeling I always had when my own boys would cry to be nursed, and my breasts were responding...
I am curious if the other ladies here, who have nursed a long time ago, have had the same thing happen...
I love that little pic. The way the child is looking up at the woman's face and those chubby baby cheeks reminds me of how my son looked at me while nursing.
Trust me, a few years later, memories of that sweet face looking up at me spared him from many a spanking. : )
Three children, not Superhealthy, but healthy, and not an IQ of less than 133........Don't flame me...I CREDIT their MOM!
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