I'd welcome any expert analysis of the paper associated with this
press release (in newspaper reports all over the UK and prob the rest
of the English speaking world soon):
http://www.gold.ac.uk/news/homepage-news/breastfeedingdoesnotimproveyourchildsiqresearchshows.php
The study is supposed to be published in PLOS One today, but no sign
of it yet. I got in touch with the University and asked to see the
full paper and they have sent me it.
I am happy to share with anyone who wants it as an attachment - there
are no copyright issues.
Anyway - the conclusion of this big longitudinal study (n = 11000) is
that it is evidence " for the lack of any benefits of breastfeeding
on cognitive development from early life through adolescence".
BUT - and here is where I would welcome some expert analysis - the
two categories of babies were 'breastfed' and 'not breastfed'.
So babies who had been breastfed for an hour, a day, a week, were all
lumped in with 'breastfed'......no number crunching was done with
length of time they had breastfed (which would - surely - have been
possible with 11,000 subjects).
I think my understanding is correct.
Would be so grateful for offers to read and interpret - especially
the stats bits which are over my head :)
Heather Welford Neil
NCT, UK
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