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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