Breastfed Babies Have Higher IQs
- According to a University of Bristol paper published in Early Human Development in 1997, in 8 out of 10 population studies, and 3 studies of low birth weight infants, it has been consistently shown that children who have been breastfed are on average intellectually more able than bottle-fed children. The longer the child has been breastfed, the more pronounced the effect.
- Another study of nearly 400 children using several tests showed that the highest IQs (of 130 or higher) were obtained by children who had been breastfed for between 4 and 9 months.
- In another study of 771 low-birth weight infants, babies whose mothers chose to provide breast milk had an 8-point advantage in a mental development test over infants of mothers choosing not to do so.
- In Spain, a 1994 study of 229 breastfed and bottle-fed infants from birth to 2 years found lower mental development in the bottle-fed infants.
- In Britain, a 1995 follow-up study of children booked into antenatal clinics found further evidence of the association between breastfeeding and child intelligence - significantly higher mental development was seen in the breastfed children studied.
Breastfed Babies Have Better Language Development
A New Zealand study found that breastfed children have higher language development (as well as intelligence test) scores at ages 3, 5 and 7 than children who were not breastfed.
Better Educational Achievement
The latest study to support this statement was done in New Zealand in 1998. Here an 18-year study of over 1,000 children found that those who were breastfed as infants had both better intelligence and greater academic achievement that children who were infant-formula fed.
Better Reading Comprehension and Mathematical Ability
The above New Zealand study also found that increasing the duration of breastfeeding results in significant increase in reading comprehension and mathematical ability.
