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Breastfeeding Boys Smarter than Formula Fed Peers
Jennifer Lance, EcoChildsPlay.com
Sunday, January 09, 2011
The benefits of breastfeeding are countless, and any breastfeeding mother knows she is doing the best thing for her child, no matter the gender. A recent study further confirms breast is best, especially for little boys, at least Down Under.
Published in Pediatrics, researchers found boys breastfed for at least six months outperformed their peers in academic tests.
The International News reports:
The research, which followed more than 1,000 Australian children, found that 10-year-old boys who had been predominantly breastfed until at least the age of 6 months did somewhat better on a set of academic tests.
Compared with boys who’d been breastfed for less time, they scored an average of 10 percent higher in math and writing, 8 percent higher in spelling and 6 percent higher in reading.
Of course, parenting is also a factor, and researchers did account for parental education level and socioeconomic status in the study. Breastfeeding was still associated with higher cognitive abilities even in consideration of these other factors.
Researchers are not sure why the cognitive benefits were not present in the girls in the study.
There is evidence that boys are more vulnerable to “adversity” during critical periods of brain development than girls are. It’s possible, Oddy explained, that the estrogens in breast milk, thought to have a protective effect on brain cells, benefit boys more than they do girls.
Another theory is that boys might gain more from the mother-child bonding that comes with breastfeeding.
“A number of studies have found that male babies are more dependent on maternal attention to help develop their cognitive and language skills,” Oddy said.
Obviously, this information is not meant to dissuade mothers from breastfeeding their little girls.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of
Healthy Child Healthy World.
Posted by chibi oka-san on 03/11/2011 at 04:16 PM
I disagree with this entirely! While breast is best because of health benefits. My son I could only breast feed him for a month due to low supply. He’s almost a year and a half and although he has a muscle issue that is causing him to not walk or stand on his own. He’s super smart.
Early Intervention accessed him because of his lack of walking and he scored above average on everything but gross motor skills because of his lack of walking and standing on his own.
Breast is best but don’t kill yourself just because you have no choice but to do formula.
Posted by Shelby on 02/02/2011 at 09:57 AM
Suzanne- It is how we nurture our children. But God designed us to breastfeed, it is the REASON we have breasts in the first place! Yes it is a personal decision on if you want to breastfeed or not. But it is in the best interest for your baby, period. Anything that is processed and man made is not going to be as healthy as something natural that comes from our own bodies. That does not mean that our children are going to suffer or have health issues. We eat a bad enough diet on our own with fast food, chemicals, BPA, and everything else that’s in our food that we are unaware of. I believe that choosing to not breastfeed just because “you don’t desire to” is selfish, period!
Posted by Suzanne on 01/10/2011 at 06:17 AM
I agree with Anna - it’s about how we nurture and love our children. I didn’t BF - never had the desire at all and didn’t feel it was going to hinder my children in any way. And you know what - they both have been and still are healthy and extremely smart children (at ages 12 and 9) - both have A+ averages. In fact, my 12 year old daughter is on the Principal’s Honor Roll in Middle School. Obviously, how I fed them has nothing to do with their intelligence. To each’s own, in my opinon - just don’t shove it down my throat. Keep it to yourself.
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Posted by kristen on 05/20/2011 at 06:44 PM
Suzanne,
You used your daughter being on the honor roll as a way to demerit this research but the research clearly said that there was no noticeable difference in girls who were breastfed or not. Also the article is just passing on the results of an experiment, their results probably showed that some unbreasfed boys did better than breastfed boys but overall the breastfed boys scored better, it then went on to explain that there may be other reasons for the results, like the mother son bond (which you can have if you dont breastfeed,probably would take a little more effort)
As someone who has breastfed her son for a couple years, I am constantly getting peoples unsoliscited opinions shoved down my throat…...this articale in no way shoves an opinion down your throat,,,,trust yourself and your choices and take a chill pill (and if you dont want to hear other peoples experiences or opinions then don’t read the blog! )
It seems to me like it wouldnt be just the lack of breastmilk but the insane things that are in formula these days that could perhaps hinder the unbreastfed boys. perhaps the breastfed boys are average and the kids who are sucking down corn syrup and chemically deriived vitamins are lacking the nutrients/energy to catch on sometimes.