Benefits of Breastfeeding

"Participants who were breastfed for 12 months or more had higher IQ scores, more years of education, and higher monthly incomes than did those who were breastfed for less than 1 month." found a study of Brazilian children reported in The LANCET Global Health. Researchers at the Federal University of Pelotas and the Catholic University of Pelotas tracked down nearly 3500 adults who were enrolled in a study within days of their birth in 1982. The adults, whose families at the time represented a spectrum of financial levels, were surveyed about their current income and administered an intelligence test. The findings:

• Compared with those who stopped breastfeeding by the time they were 1 month old, those who nursed for more than a year earned 28 percent more.

• After adjusting for demographic factors, the researchers calculated that study participants who were breastfed for more than a year had 3.76 more IQ points than those who nursed for less than a month.

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