[Fegasderty]

Researchers used specialized, baby-friendly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at the brain growth in a sample of children under the age of 4 years. By age 2, babies who had been breastfed exclusively for at least three months had enhanced development compared to children who were fed formula exclusively or who were fed a combination of formula and breastmilk.

This isn’t the first study to suggest that breastfeeding aids babies’ brain development. Behavioral studies have previously associated breastfeeding with better cognitive outcomes in older adolescents and adults.

But this is the first imaging study that looked for differences associated with breastfeeding in the brains of very young and healthy children, says Sean Deoni, assistant professor of engineering at Brown University.

“We wanted to see how early these changes in brain development actually occur. We show that they’re there almost right off the bat.”

[9mm_fan]

Interesting how breastfeeding is the only area of research of which I'm aware that reverses the findings.

In any other research, the biological norm is assumed to be the benchmark, and deviations from the biological norm are measured in impact. Instead, we assume formula feeding as the benchmark, and measure the biological norm in terms of its deviation from formula feeding.

By which I mean - breastfeeding does not enhance development. It is the biological norm. Formula feeding inhibits neurological development.

[Beerinkol]

It's a good point. I suspect the press release would have looked very different if it said "Feeding you Baby Formula Stunts Their Brain Development". I think some of this stems from the fact that whilst breastfeeding is the biological norm, it's not the practiced norm. In the US, only about 30% of mums breastfeed, and fewer still continue breastfeeding past 3 months.

[Fegasderty]

It's actually much higher now: Breastfeeding initiation increased from 74.6% in 2008 to 76.9% in 2009 births. This improvement in initiation represents the largest annual increase over the previous decade. Breastfeeding at 6 months increased from 44.3% to 47.2%; breastfeeding at 12 months increased from 23.8% to 25.5%. CDC source.

It used to be that women were told that feeding formula is healthier.

[brraverishhh]

I find it all very interesting. Some of it is definitely cultural - breastfeeding initiation rates are significantly higher here (Australia - over 90%) than the US, but continuation rates aren't much better.

It's highly emotive, for sure. The idea of telling a mother that the way she feeds her baby (by choice or circumstance) is statistically likely to inhibit her baby's neurological development... that would be very difficult to hear.

I wonder why medical science seems to pay heed to that sensitivity, though, and not others?

[Beerinkol]

There have been a few studies out looking at why mums stop. I think the main reasons were (not in order): having to go back to work (unlike Aus. Can. UK. etc., maternity leave is only 6-12 weeks in the US); difficulty in breastfeeding (without support, mothers give up); and being worried about the infants weight gain.