"BF babies are not smarter"

[JessasMilkMama]

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/128/116976.htm

[alegna]

Well, since breastfeeding is the norm, then formula fed babies just have lower IQs :

Yeah. Seen that before. Whatever makes them feel better.

-Angela

[emdeecee_sierra]

They couldn't be more correct. BF babies are normal. FF babies are less intelligent. : : :

[momileigh]

READ people, read...

That's not what the article is saying. It seems to be saying that formula fed babies AREN'T dumber.

Part of the Breastfeeding Gospel disproved perhaps.

Interesting. We may have to rethink using the IQ argument. Seems its not built on good science.

[Celery]

Just swap it for the smart women breastfeed argument :

[BelgianSheepDog]

The IQ test isn't based on good science, so there's your first problem.

I've always found arguments based on IQ to be obnoxious at any rate. I find the arguments about digestion, allergies, and other physical issues to be much more compelling and they don't have that subtle rudeness to them.

[crazy_eights]

From the article:

In the largest study ever to address the issue, researchers found a positive impact for breastfeeding on intelligence only when other potential contributors -- such as the mother's IQ and the parents' educational and economic status -- were not taken into consideration.

This part confused me. Wouldn't you WANT to take that info out of the picture? I mean, it makes sense that a woman with a high IQ would have a baby with a higher IQ. So if you control for maternal IQ, income, etc. you would expect to see LESS difference if breastfeeding didn't make a difference. I'm confused. Or missing something.

Either way, I don't think this is the last word on the topic.

[brisco]

Originally Posted by mom2seven

From the article:

This part confused me. Wouldn't you WANT to take that info out of the picture? I mean, it makes sense that a woman with a high IQ would have a baby with a higher IQ. So if you control for maternal IQ, income, etc. you would expect to see LESS difference if breastfeeding didn't make a difference. I'm confused. Or missing something.

Either way, I don't think this is the last word on the topic.

I took that sentence to mean that a positive link between BFing and IQ was noted only when those other factors weren't controlled for.

[JamesMama]

Hmmm...so if a less intelligen woman decided to BF would her children still be less intelligent?

The researchers also identified 332 sibling pairs in which one child was breastfed and the other was not. No significant difference in intelligence was found among the breastfed and nonbreastfed siblings

Interesting, but the many other benifits still outweigh, even if my kid isn't going to be einstein because of it.

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by BelgianSheepDog

The IQ test isn't based on good science, so there's your first problem.

I've always found arguments based on IQ to be obnoxious at any rate. I find the arguments about digestion, allergies, and other physical issues to be much more compelling and they don't have that subtle rudeness to them.

Many, many FF children are far more "brilliant" than many BF'd children. Silly, silly thing to base anything on.

[My4Boys]

Ugh....I hate the IQ argument. I try not to even bring it up except with a particular audience (1st time mom already wanting to breastfeed). All it does otherwise is cause problems because anyone who didn't breastfeed and/or anyone who supplemented and/or anyone who was not breastfed themselves (in other words, almost everyone) gets offended in some way.

Plus I don't believe that any test can truly measure how smart someone is. And even if it could, it can't measure motivation and desire.

[alegna]

I understood what it was about.... I think it's a cop-out to say oops- we didn't account for some stuff. They won't re-do the research of course....

-Angela

[annettemarie]

Meh. Lies, damned lies and statistics, LOL!

I think this study has a negligible effect on the benefits of breastfeeding.

[Carma]

My theory is that both are playing a role. I also once read an article that said that breastmilk increases the potential IQ, but there are still a lot of other factors that play a role. The research was done in the US, maybe the environment is such that IQ is almost already maxed out overthere (enough food, education etc.). Also formula comes with fatty acids nowadays, which was one of the explanations for the higher IQ in BF childeren. Did they also control for that, people giving the expensive formula with fatty acids, or the plainer cheaper one?
Also the study found that 75% of the difference in IQ can be explained with the IQ of the Mom, but what about the other 25%, that is probably explained by the superiority of BM?

Also in this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5398738.stm
I found this quote:

Rosie Dodds, of the National Childbirth Trust, said the study was not conclusive.

She said a study in the Philippines - where, unlike the West, poorer women are more likely to breastfeed - showed that breastfed children were likely to be more intelligent.

So that counters the conclusion of the other study again and/or shows that more factors are involved.

About the IQ argument being rude. Now the argument goes like this, "Mothers who formula feed are dumber..."


Carma

[boobs4milk]

i've done my own study...my ff babies are AVERAGE students. my bf baby is a SUPERGENIOUS and is on the academic bowl team.

i don't need any other proof...i think bf babies ARE smarter b/c they will see that bf is the norm!!!

[rmzbm]

Hu?

[sapphire_chan]

What I got out of the article is that the study found that smart women breastfeed. :

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

What I got out of the article is that the study found that smart women breastfeed. :

Now THAT I can agree with...the other, notsomuch.

[captain optimism]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

What I got out of the article is that the study found that smart women breastfeed. :

Well, yes, pretty nearly. The problem is that IQ tests are not blind to factors like education and class background.

Right now, mothers who have more education tend to breastfeed more than mothers who have less education. The people least likely to breastfeed are teen moms who have less than a high school education. But there are all kinds of socioeconomic factors working against their families that might make their children test lower on IQ tests.

Encouraging younger moms, low-income moms, and moms with generally less favorable socio-economic status to breastfeed would be fantastic for maternal and child health. But it's only one step in giving all babies an equal start. It would be great if there were only one lever to push everyone up, but there isn't. Lactivism makes sense because breastfeeding can make a big difference, but it's not the only thing that will help children and moms to be healthy and happy.

[spughy]

I haven't had a chance to fully read through all the responses so forgive me if someone else made this point...

First, I think the research is probably very accurate and there is no causal link between breastfeeding and higher IQ. Do I think that damages any part of the "breast is best" argument? Heck no. IQ is a poor indicator of success and influenced by culture, education, training, and a host of other factors. What they should be looking at is a range of traits including emotional stability, overall functionality, propensity for depression or other mental disorder, social functionality, etc etc. I strongly suspect that breastfeeding and other natural childcare practises (babywearing, AP in general) would have a huge impact on those. And let's face it, who wants a smart but messed up kid? Wouldn't you rather have a smart, well balanced kid? IQ is irrelevant.

FWIW, my DH was ff'd and is currently just finishing his PhD in comp sci with a perfect GPA. He also has a history of eczema, depression, and all sorts of crap that bf'ing would probably have fixed. I doubt it would have made him smarter though.