Breastfed Babies and Intelligence

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Here’s some baby food for thought! A new study suggests the longer a mom breastfeeds, the smarter her child may be.Researchers in Boston looked at the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and cognitive development at ages 3 and 7.They analyzed data from more than 13-hundred mothers who nursed their babies for a minimum of six months..,. or up to a year.The researchers discovered that longer breastfeeding provided an IQ benefit. At age 3, IQ was about a fifth of a point higher for every month a child was breastfed. At age 7, verbal test scores jumped more than a third of a point for each month breastfed. An advantage was also noted in non-verbal intelligence. Put another way, according to the study, breastfeeding an infant for a full year of life could increase his or her IQ by about 4 points.The researchers also looked at whether a mom’s fish intake during lactation affected her baby’s cognitive development, but the findings were not statistically significant.I’m Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV with the latest breakthroughs from the world of medicine.

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