A new study which followed around 3,500 newborns for 30 years suggests babies gain lifelong advantages from a year of breastfeeding.
Lead author Dr Bernardo Lessa Horta, of the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil, said: ‘Prolonged breastfeeding not only increases intelligence until at least the age of 30 years but also has an impact both at an individual and societal level by improving educational attainment and earning ability.
‘What is unique about this study is the fact that, in the population we studied, breastfeeding was not more common among highly educated, high-income women, but was evenly distributed by social class.
Dr Horta’s research team analysed data from a study of nearly 6,000 infants born in Pelotas, Brazil in 1982, with information on breastfeeding collected in early childhood.
Participants were given an IQ test at the age of 30, while data on breastfeeding educational achievement and income was collected for just over half of those taking part.
The study found increased adult intelligence, longer schooling, and higher adult earnings at all duration periods of breastfeeding, says a report in The Lancet Global Health journal.
The longer a child was breastfed - up to 12 months - the greater the magnitude of the benefits.
Previous research shows breast milk protects babies against stomach bugs, chest infections, asthma, and allergies, and confers health advantages in later life, while helping new mums lose their extra baby pounds more quickly.
The new study comes as efforts are being made to encourage breastfeeding in Britain, including a controversial scheme to get women to breastfeed in return for store vouchers.
Currently one in four women in the UK does not attempt to breastfeed – one of the worst rates in the world – and only a small number of women in the UK breastfeed their babies for long periods.
Less than 2 per cent of babies are breastfed exclusively for six months.
Typically an infant breastfed for at least a year gained a full four IQ points, spent an extra year in education and earned more money - equivalent to about one third of the average income level at the age of 30, compared to those breastfed for less than one month.
Dr Horta said: ‘The likely mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of breast milk on intelligence is the presence of long-chain saturated fatty acids (DHAs) found in breast milk, which are essential for brain development.
‘Our finding that predominant breastfeeding is positively related to IQ in adulthood also suggests that the amount of milk consumed plays a role.’
Janet Fyle, professional policy advisor at the Royal College of Midwives, said: ‘This is interesting research adding to what we already know about the benefits of breastfeeding lasting well into adulthood.
It is one of the most important markers of an individual’s future health and well-being and this is why health services need to make greater efforts to encourage new mothers to breastfeed and for longer, through better support, considerate maternity leave and strengthening policies and legislative framework that enables women to breastfeed when out and about.
Breastfeeding lays the foundations for an individual’s future health and wellbeing and brings great benefits for society as a whole in terms of reduced spending on ill health.
This also highlights the importance of good postnatal support and access to midwives to give women the help they need to establish and continue breastfeeding.
Source: Dailymail
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