Breastfeeding duration linked to higher intelligence

Breastfeeding 'makes children smarter' Breastfeeding for six months to a year is associated with better language at age three and verbal and non-verbal intelligence at age seven, US researchers say. Dr Mandy B. Belfort and colleagues at Boston Children's Hospital examined the relationship between breastfeeding duration and child cognition at ages three and seven. Researchers used assessment tests to measure various elements of cognitive ability, including memory, language, reasoning and problem solving.
"Longer breastfeeding duration was associated with higher Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test score at age three and with higher intelligence on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test at age seven," the researchers said, adding:
"In summary, our results support a causal relationship of breastfeeding in infancy with receptive language at age three and with verbal and non-verbal IQ at school age.
"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."
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.
Source: UPI