Breastfeeding profoundly affects an infant’s brain, greatly influencing intellectual development. A new study shows that longer breastfeeding improves children’s academic performance. Children who breastfed for longer duration performed better on standardized tests than those who breastfed for shorter periods.
Researchers drew on data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which included 5,000 children born in England between 2000 and 2002. They looked at how long each child was breastfed (based on their mothers' reports) and how well they performed on standardized tests around the age of 16 years.
They found that children who breastfed for longer tended to perform better on standardized tests of math and English, even after considering factors like socioeconomic status and maternal cognitive ability. In addition, children who breastfed for at least four months scored an average of two to three points higher on standardized tests than children who never breastfed.
These findings suggest that breastfeeding for a longer duration modestly improves academic performance later in life. Learn more about the benefits of breastfeeding in our comprehensive overview article.
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