Breast way to raise IQ
As Kate Middleton takes up breastfeeding, new study shows it can aid intelligence of babies
KATE Middleton may feel breast is best – and now fresh evidence is in agreement by suggesting that breastfeeding can raise a baby’s IQ.
The longer the child is breastfed – ideally exclusively – the higher the intelligence scores at the age of seven.
It emerged yesterday that Kate has at least one maternity dress made for breastfeeding and was given encouragement in hospital to help baby George start on her milk.
The study also found breastfeeding can enhance language skills from the age of three. The US researchers recommend babies are solely fed on breast milk for the first six months and are continually given the chance to breastfeed until a year old.
Earlier research has shown breast milk protects babies against stomach bugs, chest infections, asthma and allergies, and confers health advantages in later life.
But just five out of every 10 babies born in Ireland are breastfed, in comparison to eight out of every 10 in the UK.
The latest study included 1,312 mothers and children who had taken part in Project Viva, a long-term in- vestigation of pregnancy and child health in the US.
It found seven-year-olds breastfed for the first year of life were likely to score four points more in a test of verbal IQ than bottle-fed children.
Verbal intelligence scores at seven increased by 0.35 points for every extra month of breastfeeding.
Three-year- olds also benefited, having higher scores in a picture vocabulary language acquisition test the longer they had been breastfed.
Exclusive breastfeeding – rather than any level of breastfeeding – had the greatest effect, boosting verbal IQ scores by nearly a point per month. Seven-year- olds who were exclusively breastfed for the first six months had an almost five point advantage over those who were bottle fed. The US team of researchers reported the findings in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
The scientists, led by Dr Mandy Belfort, from Boston Children’s Hospital, said: ‘These findings support national and international recommendations to promote exclusive breastfeeding through age six months and continuation of breastfeeding through at least age one year.’
A number of factors that might have influenced the results, including home environment and mothers’ IQ, were accounted for.
Certain nutrients in breast milk may benefit the developing infant brain, it has been suggested. It is also thought that chemicals naturally present in breast milk can aid brain development, but skin to skin contact and bonding during breastfeeding may also play a part.