Breastfeeding Tied to Kids' Brainpower

Published September 02, 2011
Reuters

In a new study from the UK, kids who were breastfed as babies had higher scores on tests of vocabulary and reasoning at age 5 than those who weren't breastfed.

The data came from about 12,000 babies born in the UK between 2000 and 2002. When babies were nine months old and again at a later visit, parents were asked whether their child was breastfed and until what age.Then at five years, kids were brought in for tests that measured their vocabulary, reasoning and spatial skills.

Six or seven of every 10 babies were breastfed for some period of time.
Whether they were born on time or as preemies, kids tended to do better on the tests when they had been breastfed.

Those who were born on time and breastfed for four or six months were a few months ahead of their non-breastfed peers on vocabulary and picture-related reasoning tests.

Preemies who had been breastfed for as little as two months were also a few months ahead on picture and spatial tests compared to the other once-premature 5-year-olds, and those who were breastfed for four months saw a vocabulary boost.

For "kids who start off at a disadvantage, the gaps tend to get wider rather than narrower as they get older."

Some, but not all previous studies that looked for a link between breastfeeding and thinking skills or IQ have reported similar results.

東山評語：母乳育兒好處多，智商語言發展快。喁喁細語連末稍，黃金半歲定智愚。

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/02/breastfeeding-tied-to-kids-brainpower/#ixzz1WqVG8CIC