Newborn & baby health centre

Does longer breastfeeding boost a baby’s intelligence?

The longer that babies breastfeed during their first year, the higher their scores on intelligence tests at ages 3 and 7 years old, a study suggests. But we can’t be completely certain from this type of study that breastfeeding boosts intelligence.

What do we know already?

Breast milk is the best and most appropriate food for new babies. It includes all the nutrients babies need, along with antibodies from the mother to protect against disease.

Some research suggests that breastfeedingmight also help boost a child’s intelligence. In theory, this could be because breast milk is rich in nutrients that could help the developing brain, including an omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

However, many of the studies linking breastfeeding and intelligence have had problems. Some studies haven’t taken into account that women who breastfeed may be more likely to have additional characteristics that could affect their child’s intelligence, such as providing a more stimulating environment or being more intelligent themselves. Some studies also haven’t taken into account how long children were breastfed, instead simply comparing children who were breastfed with those who were not. This may give misleading results.

Researchers have now done a study that addresses both of these issues. They looked at a group of more than 1,300 babies born to women who’d taken part in an earlier study onpregnancy and child health. The women provided details on their background, health, and how long they breastfed their baby. They also took intelligence tests, and were interviewed and observed to find out about their child’s environment. The researchers then tested the children’s intelligence twice, once at age 3 and again at age 7.

Breastfeeding hints & hurdles

What does the new study say?

The longer the children breastfed during their first year, the better they did on intelligence tests. At age 3, children did better on tests measuring their understanding of language for each additional month they breastfed. By age 7, the researchers found similar results for tests measuring intelligence.

Overall, the researchers estimated that the intelligence scores (IQs) of children who breastfed throughout their first year were about four points higher, on average, than those of children who didn’t breastfeed.

However, the researchers did not find any link between how long the children breastfed and their scores on a separate test measuring memory and learning.

How reliable is the research?

This was a well-designed study and its findings should be fairly reliable. However, it’s worth noting that this type of study can’t show cause and effect. So we can’t be certain that the children did better on intelligence tests because they were breastfed for longer. It’s still possible that other factors played a role, although the researchers did account for many of these, including the children’s environment and their mother’s IQ. Also, bear in mind that measuring intelligence is complex, and we can’t be certain how these findings might affect a child’s intelligence in later life.

What does this mean for me?

If you are pregnant, these findings provide more reason to consider breastfeeding your baby during the first year, as they show that longer breastfeeding is linked to higher intelligence scores.

If you would like to learn more about breastfeeding or have any questions or concerns, be sure to talk to your midwife, health visitor, or doctor.