Incorrect that they were breastfed for six mths. 

That is a misreading. 

The 'average' time the babies in the study were breastfed for was four mths. I don't know how that was worked out and the data is not shown in the paper ( as far as I can see). 

My suspicion is that if bf makes a difference to IQ, this study cannot show it. All it shows is that 'any' breastfeeding makes no measurable difference on this measure.. That is perfectly within expectations. 

I will send the paper to you, Pamela. 

Heather Neil

Sent from my iPad

> On 25 Sep 2015, at 11:26 a.m., Pamela Morrison <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Heather
> 
> Thanks for alerting us to this study on PLoS One.  I would really appreciate the full-text, please (send to <[log in to unmask]>) - I also looked today and can't find it, and the British press are having a field-day with these atrocious results :'(  Of special note, even the NHS (who should know better!) is reporting on it very positively, see http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/09September/Pages/No-significant-link-between-breastfeeding-and-higher-IQ.aspx 
> 
> You bring up the good point that breastfeeding was defined as "ever"  or "never".  So that says a lot.  To add to this, in one of the reports it says that the study population were twins, 62% of whom were breastfed for 4 months.  As we know, it's difficult enough  to get British mothers to breastfeed singletons, never mind twins, and our breastfeeding rates are appallingly low.  It's very unlikely that any of those babies - being twins - would have been exclusively breastfed, or would have received much breastfeeding at all beyond a year. So it's interesting to speculate why this population would have been chosen to look specifically at breastfeeding and its effect on IQ. It might be worth digging around to see where the funding came from. 
> 
> Meanwhile there are other articles in the lactation literature testifying to improved cognition with breastfeeding:
> 
> ABM protocol at http://www.bfmed.org/Media/Files/Protocols/Protocol_16.pdf 
> 
> Anderson JW, Johnstone BM, Remley DT. Breastfeeding and cognitive development: A meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:525–535.
> 
> Horwood LJ, Fergusson DM. Breastfeeding and later cognitive and academic outcomes. Pediatrics 1998; 101:E9.
> 
> Jacobson SW, Chiodo LM, Jacobson JL. Breastfeeding effects on intelligence quotient in 4- and 11-year-old children. Pediatrics 1999;103:E71.
> 
> Vohr BR, Poindexter BB, Dusick AM, et al. Beneficial effects of breastmilk in the neonatal intensive care unit on the developmental outcomes of extremely low
> birth weight infants at 18 months of age. Pediatrics 2006;118:e115–e123.
> 
> Mortensen EL, Michaelsen KF, Sanders SA, Reinisch JM. The association between duration of breastfeeding and adult intelligence. JAMA 2002;287:2365–2371.
> 
> Rao MR, Hediger ML, Levine RJ, et al. Effect of breastfeeding on cognitive development of infants born small for gestational age. Acta Paediatr 2002;91:267–274.
> 
> Anderson JW, Johnstone BM, Remley DT. Breastfeeding and cognitive development: A meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 70:525–535.
> 
> Slykerman RF, Thompson JM, Becroft DM, et al. Breastfeeding and intelligence of preschool children. Acta Paediatr 2005;94:832–837.
> 
> Pamela Morrison IBCLC
> Rustington, West Sussex, England
> ----------------------------------------------------------- 
> 
> 
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