Monday, May 12, 2008

Breastfeeding Makes You Smart

Sitting on the couch with the newspaper, my brother-in-law read aloud, "A new study provides some of the best evidence to date that breast-feeding can make children smarter, an international team of researchers said. Children whose mothers breast-fed them longer and did not mix in baby formula scored higher on intelligence tests, the researchers in Canada and Belarus reported."

Then he looked up and exclaimed, in a bit of a smart-alecky tone, "Yeah Maureen and Rob's kids have got to be freakin' geniuses!"

Hey, I wean them before they get to kindergarten!

Of course I didn't tell him that the reason they're so smart is because they're sucking my brain cells out through my breast milk. Which explains my lack of brain function these days.

3 comments:

Heather said...

I saw an article about this some time ago. I was bottle-fed, as was my husband.
"What would we be, beloved, if we'd been nursed?" I asked him.
"Insufferable," he replied.

Kate Wicker said...

As an extended breastfeeder who uses ecological breastfeeding as part of NFP, I once had someone ask me if I was planning on weaning my older daughter before she went to college. Ha. Ha. Ha. I mean, I think it will probably be safe to wean my sure-to-be-brainy (based on this study) kids once they get their college acceptance letters, right?

Seriously, loved your post - especially about your nurslings sucking your brain cells out. Maybe that explains why I almost brushed my teeth with Balmex the other day.

God bless.

Anonymous said...

Nursing has so many good things about it. I believe it also helps to keep babies less picky when done without supplementing. My 2 oldest were picky and supplemented (so they weaned themselves around 3 months). The 3 youngest never took a bottle. Not only are they NOT picky, they have voracious appetites.

They say that what mom eats gives the milk different tastes. My thinking is that when you are used to the same old formula, you'd be more resistant to change than someone who had a little this and that. Also, what a wonderful, gentle way for baby to acquire a taste for what the family eats.

Crystal Walker