Growth & Development: What do these studies mean?

What do these developmental studies really mean?

1. If your child was formula fed and scored 105 on a test of cognitive development, then your child might have scored 107 to 109 had he or she been breast fed for the optimal duration.

2. If every child was optimally breast-fed, the mean developmental test score of the population might rise 2 to 4 points.

3. Most of these studies show that breastfeeding up to four to eight months of age, with the addition of supplemental foods at 4 to 6 months, seems to be optimal.

4. There are very few studies that have examined whether breast feeding longer than four to eight months might be better. The study by Mortensen on the effect of breastfeeding on developmental test scores on Danish young adults showed that mean developmental test scores increased significantly as breastfeeding duration increased from < 1 month, through 2-3 months, 4-5 months, to 7-9 months. There was a small non-significant decrease in developmental test scores when breastfeeding continued for > 9 months. ( Mortensen, 2002 ).

5. No difference in the motor skills of infants fed formula or breast milk has been observed or reported.

6. It has been postulated that breastfeeding mothers provide more attention and stimulation to their babies and that this could explain their better developmental test scores. All of the authors have attempted to account for this in their data analysis by various means. The similarity of the results of these studies supports the conclusion that breast milk improves developmental outcome. The Jacobson study found that the difference in developmental test scores between breast fed and formula fed infants disappeared when maternal test scores and parenting skills were controlled ( Jacobson, 1999 ).

7. This data is very thought provoking, however it does not prove that breastfeeding one's baby will guarantee a smarter child.