Breastfeeding Tips & Benefits: Better Health & Lifelong Success for Breastfed Babies

Breastfeeding is best for infants and young children. But beyond that, a research has shown that there may be more to it than most moms know. In a long-term study conducted by researchers in Brazil, babies who have been breastfed are more intelligent and are more successful as adults.

The study, published in the April issue of Lancet Global Health, first started in 1982 by following over 6,000 babies from the time they were born until their thirties. The period for when they were breastfed to when they began eating solids were all recorded. After three decades, the researchers invited over 3,500 of those babies, who are now in their 30's, for an interview and IQ testing.

Social factors that could affect the study, such as socioeconomic status, were controlled by making sure that the populace being tested includes a wide range of people with different household incomes or social classes. The research has shown that those who have been breastfed longer tend to be more intelligent by having higher I.Q. scores, spent longer in school, and earned more from their work, according to New York Times.

Dr. Bernardo Lessa Horta from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil wanted to know if the study can answer whether breastfeeding can make an individual more intelligent in the future and better adjusted in their adulthood.

"I don't want to terrify people who did not breast-feed or who breast-fed for a short time," said Horta, the lead author of studies to the NY Times. "It isn't only breast-feeding that affects I.Q. and income. But our study does show that breast-feeding is important and should be encouraged."

According to Health24, breastfeeding is already known to provide more than just sustenance and protection against disease and infection for infants; it can also make them healthier and more intelligent. For example, in a statistics made publicly available by UNICEF, babies who are given formula in the first six months are more likely to die than those who were breastfed.

Horta, talking about the long term study as observational, said that the mothers breastfeeding the children could not be completely ruled out as one of the major factors in their baby's development, notes the Guardian. There's also proof from other studies that a mother's milk containing polyunsaturated acids are key factors for infant brain growth. Additionally, there are studies that babies who allegedly have a certain genotype are more likely susceptible to having higher IQ's from breastfeeding.