The latest large-scale study searching for a link between breastfeeding and increased intelligence finds no such connection, contrary to the findings of previous, smaller studies.
Plenty of research suggests that breastfeeding can potentially boost a child's health in a number of ways, including elevated resistance to maladies like asthma and diabetes. Some studies have also looked for a link between breastfeeding and higher IQ, based on the theory that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in human breast milk enhance brain development. PUFAs aren’t found in animal milk and haven’t been successfully replicated in baby formula.
In the latest study, researchers analyzed data from 11,582 identical and nonidentical twins who were part of the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) conducted at King’s College London. Breastfeeding data was collected from the children's mothers within two years of their twins' birth, and the intelligence of each twin was assessed at the ages of 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 16 years. This extensive study design allowed researchers to examine how breastfeeding affected each child's intelligence over time.
The results showed no association between breastfeeding and higher IQ in boys or girls after the age of two. Girls who were breastfed showed a small increase in IQ at age two, but the effect was statistically weak and not observed in boys.
Study co-author Dr. Sophie von Stumm, from Goldsmiths University of London in the UK, said that the theory linking PUFAs in breast milk and increased intelligence is plausible, but “few of the earlier studies have employed strong research designs that produce reliable results."
She added that the latest results should be viewed in the context of the other potential benefits breastfeeding may provide, like the development of a healthy autoimmune system, but when it comes to boosting intelligence, the evidence is simply not there.
Quoting Stumm, “Mothers should be aware that they are not harming their child if they choose not to, or cannot, breastfeed – being bottlefed as an infant won't cost your child a chance at a university degree later in life."
The study was published in the journal PLOS.ONE.
You can find David DiSalvo on Twitter @neuronarrative and at his website daviddisalvo.org.
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