The smart thing about breastfeeding

What happened
A study released this week provided fresh evidence that breast-feeding can make children smarter. The research by scientists in Canada and Belarus showed that babies whose mothers breast-fed them longer—and never used formula—scored about 5 percent higher on IQ tests several years later and did better academically than other kids.

What the commentators said
The evidence about the benefits of breastfeeding is really piling up, said Jacob Goldstein in The Wall Street Journal’s Health blog. Breast-fed children in this study scored higher in every measure of intelligence, although the differences were small—in some cases not statistically significant. In some areas—including verbal IQ—the advantages gained by the breast-fed kids were “significant.” Since this was the largest randomized trial on the subject, the findings really back up the growing evidence that breastfeeding makes kids at least a little smarter.

Breastfeeding is clearly a smart move, said Jennifer Lance in the blog Eco Child’s Play. Breast milk is “the perfect food,” and this isn’t the first study to find that it gives children higher IQs. It also has been credited for strengthening immune systems, and discouraging allergies. “Breastfeeding may also prevent some forms of breast cancer in the mother.”

There are plenty of reasons why more women than ever are breastfeeding, said Shari Roan in the Los Angeles Times’ Booster Shots health blog. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week released the results of a survey of mothers and infants taken in 2005 and 2006 showing that 77% of all infants were breastfed at least once. “However, breastfeeding advocates say the real picture isn't so positive.” Breastfeeding rates are lower in some “racial and ethnic groups, compared to whites, and lag among lower-income women, younger women, and those who work.”