December 2000 - A new study by researchers in New
Zealand reveals that premature babies breastfed or fed expressed
breastmilk in a bottle have higher IQs by the time they are 7 or 8
years old than preemie babies who do not receive breastmilk.
The group of researchers, headed by Dr. L.J. Horwood of Christchurch
School of Medicine in New Zealand, reported their findings in the
Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal Neonatal Edition.
The study included 413 children ages 7 and 8 who weighed less than 3.3
pounds at birth. The majority (73 percent) of the babies received
breastmilk, with 37 percent breastfed for at least four months. The
children who received breastmilk for eight months or longer had verbal
IQ scores six points higher than those children who did not receive
any breastmilk, leading researchers to report that the longer the
duration of breastfeeding, the greater the impact on IQ.
Although the researchers did try to account for mother's education and
family income - other factors that can affect a child's IQ - they
admit this type of study cannot conclusively determine that breastmilk
alone helped boost the IQ scores.
But this study, along with other IQ
studies, contribute to "growing research evidence supporting
a positive association between breastmilk exposure and enhanced
IQ," the researches said.
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