Women breastfeed babies during a mass event in Athens November 2, 2014. Hundreds of women gathered and fed babies in public to raise awareness among young mothers on the practice at the beginning of the annual World Breastfeeding Week.
IN PHOTO: Women breastfeed babies during a mass event in Athens November 2, 2014. Hundreds of women gathered and fed babies in public to raise awareness among young mothers on the practice at the beginning of the annual World Breastfeeding Week. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis (GREECE - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) TEMPLATE OUT

A 30-year study in Brazil tracked 3,500 newborns until they reached adulthood to compare the effect of breastfeeding on adult life. The study recorded the length of time they studied, their employment, income and level of intelligence.

Dr Bernardo Lessa Horta, author of the study, explains, “Information on breastfeeding duration was collected very close to the time when weaning happened, so we had a very precise information on the duration of breastfeeding, quotes The Lancet Global Health in a podcast, reports CNN.

The result found that babies who were breastfed for at least one year on the average got scores in tests four IQ points compared to infants who were breastfed less than one year, reports Telegraph. Other advantages of the babies breastfed longer include remaining in education nine months longer and earning 20 percent higher than the national average income.

Converted into British currency, the babies breastfed longer earned an extra 440 pounds monthly. If that person works 40 years, the extra income translates to over 200,000 pounds.

Horta attributes the advantage of breast milk to its being rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are important to brain growth and development.

However, Texas A&M Professor Joan Wolf questions the conclusions because the study did not measure the impact of home life, intellectual stimulation or mother-infant bonding which could have contributed to the higher IQ of the subjects.

Wolf, the author of “Is Breast Best?,” told CNN, “This study does not address the very real possibility that mothers who breastfeed, regardless of income or education, distinguish themselves from those who bottle-feed in all kinds of ways that are likely to promote intelligence.”

Horta said that the study provided more proof that besides the clear short-term benefits, breastfeeding has long-term consequences in terms of human potential.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au

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