Researchers at McGill University and Children's Hospital of Montreal They have published in "Archives of General Psychiatry" the largest study ever conducted on the relationship between breastfeeding and cognitive development.
And the results are that breastfeeding raise the intellectual quotient of children and improves their academic performance.
Previous studies that we have already shown here had pointed to better brain development and intelligence benefits of breastfed babies, but experts were trying to determine whether this was due to breastfeeding or breastfeeding mothers are different from bottle-feeding mothers. .
To eliminate this confusion they divided 14,000 babies from Biolorrusia in two random groups, regardless of the characteristics of their mothers. In one group they encouraged and supported prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding. The mothers of the other children did not receive a special stimulus.
Six and a half years later, the differences between the two groups with tests of intellectual quotient and the qualifications of their teachers in subjects such as reading, writing or mathematics were measured. The results in both fields were much higher in the children of the group in which breastfeeding was promoted.
What is the real reason for this difference?
The authors point out that breast milk has an exclusive composition in which the long chain fatty acids and a component known as insulin-like growth factor I, and that could be responsible for cognitive differences, but they fail to assert it. They also consider other possibilities such as the mother interacts more with the baby and talks to her more.
Although they do not mention it, we must not forget that during breastfeeding the brain secretes oxytocin which is the love hormone and favors a greater crush on the baby, which could also justify the greater physical contact, in addition to the obvious skin-to-skin contact.
Of course, the study has a fine print: the results are only obtained with exclusive breastfeeding (not mixed) and prolonged, although they don't mention how many months they are.
And the question is: who does that today? According to data from Catalonia but extrapolated to all of Spain and some countries, although 81% of parturients leave the hospital with breastfeeding, at 3 months they maintain 62%, at 6 months 30%, at year 11 % and at 2 years that is what WHO recommends (at least because the cap is when the mother and baby want) we have a marginal figure of 2% (of this I am not sure).
That is, we would only have 11% of smarter children in Spain but many more in Norway or countries with a higher incidence of prolonged breastfeeding? What does this imply socially?
As an international expert in breastfeeding IBCLC commented, the difference in intellectual quotient in a healthy child may hardly be perceived (not noticeably), but in children with problems it means a better quality of life. This is the case of premature babies for whom breastfeeding is not a whim but medicine and pure gold, and babies with Down syndrome who get up to 7 more intelligence points if they are breastfed, and this does imply a clear benefit.
From this study I draw 4 conclusions:
- It is clear that human milk is better for the brain and human body than the artificial milk of an animal with more body volume but less brain
- We already know, from the Punset documentary and other investigations that the skin to skin contact It also favors neural connections. The mothers we breastfeed have an advantage here, but bottle mothers can live this fusion in the same way
- The problem is not so much (or not only) in the bottle but in the DISAPPEARANCE and that is the great tragedy of the current upbringing, and therefore of society
- The key reflection would be what happens to all babies neither breastfed nor raised by their mothers / nursing person but spend long hours in daycare centers. That should analyze in depth the politicians who offer nurseries at 0 months as the only alternative to parenting, contrary to what happens in the Nordic countries
Hopefully, instead of spending so much money on studies that demonstrate the obvious, they also spend it on training health professionals and other measures so that so many women who want and try to breastfeed do not have to throw in the towel with suffering and guilt for the lack of help and support when problems arise (cracks, mastitis, weight loss, etc.), and of course they invest in prolonged and paid maternity leave.
The theory is fine, but the practice plus. And stop facing some mothers and others because the happiness of our children is not 5 points up or down, but it is that they give us facilities to raise our family with time and presence.
If I were one of the Belarusian mothers of the bottle group in which they did not help me and encouraged me (knowing the results in advance), and now they tell me that my son is less intelligent, I would put a lawsuit on them!
