Kirsten Blacker wrote:
>What's the value of the 8-10 points? When I teach the benefits of
>breastfeeding in my prenatal class and this comes up, I always ask how many
>people have seen the movie Forest Gump. There is a scene where his mother is
>fighting to get him into a normal school because he is (I think) 6IQ points
>below the normal range. I use the story to point out how important 8-10
>points can be.
>Of course, the obvious question is....was Forest Gump breastfed ;-)

This reminds me of the article by Denise Drane, who looked at the
economic value of breastfeeding:
Drane D, 1997, Breastfeeding and formula feeding: a preliminary
economic analysis,  BF Review 5(1): 7-15

She talks about the proportion of children in certain IQ categories
according to the rates of breastfeeding in the community, and how
much more expensive it is in educational costs to allow for the
greater numbers of low-IQ individuals where the BF rates are lower.

So if people are not concerned about a few IQ points on an individual
level, maybe the costs to the whole community might make them
rethink, and see that this is significant.

Kirsten, I don't know if Forest Gump was breastfed ;-) but maybe he
was - he managed to achieve a helluva lot for someone who was
'mentally challenged'!!
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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