Breastfeeding and IQ

Brain Food for Your Baby

By Rebecca Valentine

If you had the power to make your child more intelligent, would you?

Doctors and scientists agree: Breastmilk is the best nourishment for babies. Human milk provides nutrients essential to building strong human bodies that cow's milk or formula simply can't supply. But does it also enhance brain function? Recent studies indicate that yes, babies who are breastfed have higher intelligence quotient (IQ) levels and enhanced cognitive development.

Although there have been numerous studies conducted within the past decade that indicate the overall health benefits of breastfeeding, it is only within the last couple of years that researchers have looked at breastfeeding as it relates to cognitive development and IQ. One such study, conducted in 1998 in New Zealand, collected breastfeeding information on more than 1,000 children from birth to age one. These same children were assessed on a variety of measures of cognitive and academic outcomes from ages 8 to 18 years. The results, published in the January 1998 issue of Pediatrics, indicated a direct correlation between the duration of breastfeeding and higher mean scores on tests of cognitive ability.

Another study, which led to similar conclusions, was conducted by nutritionist James Anderson of the University of Kentucky. His results were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in October 1999. Anderson's results confirm that breastfeeding is accompanied by about a five point higher IQ than in bottle-fed infants. Babies breastfed at least up to 6 months of age reaped the greatest benefits, while those nursed for 2 weeks or less were not affected.

What is most interesting about these findings is that, in both studies, researchers concluded that the benefits of nursing come not primarily from the maternal bonding that accompanies breastfeeding, but from the actual nutritional value of the milk. According to Anderson, that ratio is 40 to 60, respectively.

The results of a 17-week-long study conducted at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest in Texas just this year were published in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. These results reinforce what the aforementioned studies found. In the Retina study, two fatty acids found in human milk -- DHA and AA -- that promote long-term brain function are in all likelihood responsible for enhanced IQ levels in breastfed children. The group of newborns fed a formula containing both DHA and AA performed better than the group fed formula with just DHA and the group fed formula containing neither fatty acid in terms of memory, problem solving and language development. How much better? Two-and-a-half points and seven points, respectively.

Want to see more?

• When One Child is Breastfed
• Breastfeed.com's Expert Q&A
• 101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child
• Breastfeed.com MomsTalk Discussion Board