... they wouldn't be so dumb.

Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

A long-term study has pointed to a link between breastfeeding and intelligence.

The research in Brazil traced nearly 3,500 babies, from all walks of life, and found those who had been breastfed for longer went on to score higher on IQ tests as adults.

Experts say the results, while not conclusive, appear to back current advice that babies should be exclusively breastfed for six months.

But they say mothers should still have a choice about whether or not to do it.

Regarding the findings - published in The Lancet Global Health - they stress there are many different factors other than breastfeeding that could have an impact on intelligence, although the researchers did try to rule out the main confounders, such as mother's education, family income and birth weight.

Dr Bernardo Lessa Horta, from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil, said his study offers a unique insight because in the population he studied, breastfeeding was evenly distributed across social class - not something just practised by the rich and educated.

Most of the babies, irrespective of social class, were breastfed - some for less than a month and others for more than a year.

Those who were breastfed for longer scored higher on measures of intelligence as adults.

They were also more likely to earn a higher wage and to have completed more schooling.

Long-term impact

Dr Horta believes breast milk may offer an advantage because it is a good source of long-chain saturated fatty acids which are essential for brain development.

But experts say the study findings cannot confirm this and that much more research is needed to explore any possible link between breastfeeding and intelligence.

Kevin Fenton, national director of health and wellbeing, Public Health England, said there was strong evidence that breastfeeding provides some health benefits for babies - reduced respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in infancy, for example.

He said: "PHE's advice remains that exclusive breastfeeding for around the first six months of life provides health benefits to babies.

"We recognise however, that not all mothers choose, or are able, to breastfeed and infant formula is the only alternative to breast milk for babies under 12 months old."

Janet Fyle of the Royal College of Midwives said new mothers needed breastfeeding support.

Dr Colin Michie, chairman of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's nutrition committee, said: "There have been many studies on the link between breastfeeding and IQ over the years with many having had their validity challenged.

"This study however, looks at a number of other factors including education achievement and income at age 30 which, along with the high sample size, makes this study a very powerful one.

"It is important to note that breastfeeding is one of many factors that can contribute to a child's outcomes, however this study emphasises the need for continued and enhanced breastfeeding promotion so expectant mothers are aware of the benefits of breastfeeding."

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31925449#

There may be tonnes of factors that help tweak the outcome here....like the fact that parents that have made the effort to do the research that promotes breastfeeding might naturally be producing smarter kids--because of genetics, or because they were more likely to make efforts to help their kids along in other areas.

Having said that...there's no good reason not to breastfeed if you can. Breastfeeding was the norm, before someone decided to mass produce formula to make a lot of money by telling women something store bought was better than what their bodies could produce, and turning it into a status symbol (only poor women or backwoods farm women would breastfeed their children like beasts do...look what the hip modern women are doing, blah blah).

I am not a breastfeeding Nazi. In fact, breastfeeding Nazis bug the crap out of me. No one has the right to walk up to a woman in a public place and give her a hard time for giving her baby a bottle. For all you know, she couldn't breastfeed, she has silicon boobs, or adopted that child. Mind your own fricking business. so you breastfed your kid until he was 25. congratulations. I'm sure you're perfect in all other ways too. so go live your perfect parenting life and let me fuck up my kids in the million other ways I probably already have, and leave me alone.

But I think society in the first world could still go a long way to making breastfeeding easier on women. Making it legal for women to go topless was a good first step in Canada. But so many people still need to get over their BREASTFEEDING IN PUBLIC issues. Women should feel comfortable breastfeeding everywhere. Boardrooms. Weddings. Funerals. Restaurants. Just for laughs festivals. I don't care. It is a natural part of life, and it should be treated that way. There was a time in history when women were not allowed to go out in public when they were pregnant, because it was considered an obscene reminder of fornication. We got over that. I'm sure we can get over a bit of non-sexual skin in public places. So someone's cover up strategy failed a little, and you saw a nipple. I"m sure you'll survive.

I think most women these days breastfeed at least a little. But if you ask 10 women why they stopped, or why they began to supplement, you will get answers like...I wanted my body back. I wanted to get out more. I wanted to take my baby places and not have to go hide to feed her. etc, etc. So women are making decisions that are less healthy for their babies so that they can rejoin society after the birth of their child, and that's not fair.

How do we know when we've gotten there? When Christian d'or designs a line of breastfeeding gala gowns, and a movie star is filmed breastfeeding a child in the red seats of the award shows. I'm not kidding.

Then there's the way formula has been marketed in the third world, where women who had no access to safe water were encouraged to give up breastfeeding and mix powdered formula for their poor unsuspecting infants, but that's a whole other post.

Two points to note:

During a certain time period, many moons ago, wealthy women used wet nurses before bottled formula came along. Not sure of the reasons...

Also women who "want their body back" should remember that breastfeeding contracts and helps shrink the uterus, thus giving them their body back in better shape.

Leave women alone! Would you rather hear a screaming, hungry baby (on a plane, in the mall, in a theater?) or catch a glimpse of a breast? Most women nurse discretely. I once was nursing when friends came over. When baby was done, I excused my self to go and organize my clothing, explaining why. They both said "You were nursing? We didn't even know that?"

Perhaps those that protest so much about public breastfeeding are just turned on by it.......

Excellent rant, greeny ~ thanks largely to the far-right's obsessions, we are regressing into a 2d Dark Ages ~

Good points/questions, roseanne ~ "wet nurses" relieved the wealthy women from the pesky details of infancy ... feeding, changing diapers, dealing with colic or crying spells ~ once the infants reached early toddler stage, the "wet nurses" were replaced with full-time nannies ~

Sooz

Sooz, I found some interesting info at Wiki. I hadn't thought about some of this regarding wet nurses. More at link if you're interested:

A wet nurse can help when a baby's natural mother is unable or chooses not to feed the infant. Before the development of baby formulas in the 20th century, when a mother was unable to breastfeed her baby, the baby's life was put in danger if a wet nurse was not available. There are many reasons why a mother is unable to lactate or to produce sufficient breast milk. Reasons include the serious or chronic illness of the mother and her treatment which creates a temporary difficulty to nursing. Additionally, a mother's taking drugs (prescription or recreational) may necessitate a wet nurse if a drug in any way changes the content of the mother's milk. Some women choose not to breastfeed for social reasons.

Wet nurses have also been used when a mother cannot produce sufficient breast milk, i.e., the mother feels incapable of adequately nursing her child, especially following multiple births. Wet nurses tend to be more common in places where maternal mortality is high.[2]
..........
The practice of using wet nurses is ancient and common to many cultures. It has been linked to social class, where monarchies, the aristocracy, nobility or upper classes had their children wet-nursed in the hope of becoming pregnant again quickly. Lactation inhibits ovulation in some women, thus the practice has a rational basis. Poor women, especially those who suffered the stigma of giving birth to an illegitimate child, sometimes had to give their baby up, temporarily or permanently, to a wet-nurse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_nurse