Just in case you didn't see this, formula manufacturers are trying to
duplicate whatever is in breastmilk that makes "our" babies have
increased IQ.

They failed.

http://www.reutershealth.com/frame_eline.html

NEW YORK, Dec 03 (Reuters Health) -- Feeding infants formula
supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during the
first 6 months provides no benefit in terms of mental or motor
development or growth, British and Australian researchers report in the
December 4th issue of The Lancet.

"Whether long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids... should be added to
infant formula is one of the most debated issues in infant nutrition,"
the study authors note. Some of these fatty acids are found in breast
milk, and previous studies have suggested that they be added to formula
to assist brain development in bottle-fed babies. Recent formal reviews
of fatty acid supplementation, including those done for the US Food and
Drug Administration and the Canadian government, "have generated the
view that current studies on (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid)
supplementation of formulas are inconclusive."

Dr. Alan Lucas of the MRC Childhood Nutrition Centre in London, UK, and
a multicenter team recruited 447 healthy full-term infants in a
randomized study. Of these, 155 were fed formula milk alone for 6
months, 154 were fed formula supplemented with long-chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids for 6 months, and 138 were fed breast milk
for at least 6 weeks. Babies were tested for mental and motor
development at 9 months and 18 months.

The researchers found no differences in mental, social, or motor
development up to 18 months in infants fed formula with or without the
fatty acids. There was also no evidence that the fatty acids had any
adverse effects in babies fed either formula milk alone or as
supplementation.

Although this study did not show a benefit of supplementation of infant
formula in terms of mental and motor development, the authors say they
are continuing to test these infants at later ages to look for more
subtle differences in neurodevelopmental performance such as vision.

Although little evidence exists to show that infant development can be
improved by fatty acid supplements, any benefits are likely to be
"modest and smaller" compared with breast milk, Dr. Robert A. Gibson of
Flinders Medical Centre in Bedford Park, Australia, writes in an
accompanying editorial.

SOURCE: The Lancet 1999;354:1919-1920, 1948-1954
--

Denny Rice, RN, IBCLC
Dallas Texas USA

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