Breastfeeding improves a child’s cognitive-mental performance, as one confirms new British scientific research. Babies who have been breastfed for at least six months perform slightly better on consecutive tests by age 14 than children who have never been breastfed by their mothers when they were babies.
The researchers, led by Rene Pereira-Elias of the University of Oxford, who published the paper in the scientific journal PLoS One, studied data on 7,855 infants, who were monitored until they were 14 years old. 23% had breastfed for six months or more, while 34% had not breastfed at all. The children took various tests (verbal, spatial, etc.) at the ages of 5, 7, 11 and 14 years.
It was found that children who had breastfed for a longer period of time generally had higher performance, even when other factors were taken into account, such as the educational level of the mother or the socio-economic level of the family.
Pereira-Elias said that “in some countries mothers with a more favorable social background and those who have the same higher performance in cognitive tests are more likely to breastfeed their babies for longer. It has been argued that the relationship between breastfeeding and cognitive development is due to the above differences. However, our new study, which took into account socio-economic conditions and maternal cognitive ability, shows that the duration of breastfeeding, in fact, is associated with higher cognitive performance in children, even up to 14 years.
Breast milk contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and micronutrients that help the brain develop. Also, according to the researchers, breast milk contains microRNA, ie parts of the genetic code responsible for programming the brain in order to grow and function properly.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding babies for about six months and then, for another year, breastfeeding alongside other foods. The longer breastfeeding, the lower the risk of infections and other diseases for the baby. However, not all women can breastfeed.
“It is important to remember that the potential gains in cognitive ability of children who have been breastfed for several months are equivalent to only 2 to 3 points on the IQ, where the average is 100,” said Pereira-Elias. “Of course, if an entire population increases the IQ by an average of 2-3 points, we will see significant differences,” he added.
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