Breastfed Babies More Successful in Life

By Ina Woolcott

Breast-fed babies have a stronger ability to climb the social ladder than those given cow's milk, a new study has found, and the longer a baby is breastfed, the better chances it will have to succeed.

The study was done on the success and failures of 1,414 UK babies born in the 1920s and 1930s, a population now in there 70's. The study will be published in the Archives of Diseases of Childhood, and suggests that the children who were breastfed were 41 percent more likely to rise up at least one level in the social ladder compared to others who were fed cow's milk, the only alternative at the time.

A study in the Lancet, a British medical journal, suggests that breastfeeding raises a preterm babies' IQ by up to 5 points, and other studies have connected breastfeeding with higher intelligence. However, the findings contradict other research - a study from the Medical Research Council published in 2006 indicate breastfed babies had a higher level of intelligence not from the milk but from other factors like a more active and stimulating home environment.

"One of the most consistent findings in the published literature on the long-term impact of infant-feeding is that breastfeeding is associated with improved neurocognitive development, which could influence future educational and occupational success and hence social mobility" was written by researchers involved in the study.

The natural nutrients found in breastfeeding make it an optimal choice. Few people will say the obvious - really cow's milk impairs the intelligence of babies. Human breast milk has VITAL nutrition to build healthy, peak-performance nervous systems and cognitive function in human beings, and milk intended for cows simply lacks that nutrition. Mothers who feed their young cow's milk are, in effect, making it more difficult for their children to succeed in life.

The lead researcher of the University of Bristol study, epidemiologist Richard Martin, said that while breastfed babies moved up the social ladder more than their bottle fed counterparts, both groups were capable of doing so - half of the bottle fed babies moved up the social ladder, but nearly 6 out of 10 of breast-fed babies did the same thing.

76% of British women do breastfeed when a baby is born, but most wean their children to bottles within the first four months.

EDITORS VIEW:

To me at least, it is obvious that a mothers milk is simply THE BEST start to a babies, and toddlers, life. It is the best thing in the world for their immune systems. My daughter is almost 20 months and I am still breastfeeding her, whenever she wants. Sometimes twice a day and ad-lib at night. If and when she is not well, I feed her a lot more! When babies become older and start walking, the mother’s milk changes to accommodate this and contains antibodies in case they are injured outside for instance. In modern day society, there is too much push for independence, and not enough emphasis on the mother breastfeeding for years, not months. I also co-sleep with my daughter as its far nicer for her and me. In the long run, she will be independent when SHE is ready. At the same time she will feel secure, happy and loved.