https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 03 May 2026 18:46:01 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114376 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 11:50:59 +0000 edelweiss 2114376@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>yeah i think there have got to be a whole host of issues with that study. i think SES probably plays a big part. who can make the financial decision to stay at home where EBF might be easier, who has access to and time for a lactation consultant, all the pumping parts/accessories, who has access to a good place to pump if they work (this would also imply more control over one's schedule)... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114374 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 11:50:15 +0000 Truth Bombs 2114374@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@autumn865: It was the 20% higher income that was more impressive to me than the 4 point higher IQ score. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114360 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 11:43:40 +0000 Mama Bird 2114360@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: yeah, there's just no way to rule out the factors that come with longer breastfeeding! Presumably that means that either the mom stayed home with the baby longer (and they likely got more one on one attention then and later in life), or the mom had a flexible schedule and pumped (and again, likely spent more time with the child thanks to the flex schedule). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114344 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 11:33:57 +0000 californiadreams 2114344@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@autumn865: i didn't read the study, but excellent point! 4 point difference is not significant if you look at the confidence intervals. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114337 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 11:32:04 +0000 autumn865 2114337@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also the IQs were 4 points higher in the BF babies? This number is not significant. Ones IQ score could change 4 points depending on a variety of testing factors. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114119 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 09:23:27 +0000 Anagram 2114119@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: That's so awful! I know it's just a personal example, but I'm one of 6 and only the last two of us were breastfed--and my little sister (breastfed) is the only one of us with food allergies and the only one with mental illness. The sibling who was the best in school (I don't think we have IQ scores for all of us to compare) was formula fed. And we all had the same parents, so that environment was controlled. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114106 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 09:11:10 +0000 yoursilverlining 2114106@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Your poor mother, that is so sad :crying: </p> <p>I don’t see the upside/point of these studies, personally. Especially if not controlled for other factors that are already shown to impact education levels/educational atonement. And especially if there is no efforts then to try to address reasons why so many women don’t BF (the ones that can, and want to) – better maternity leave laws, easier access to healthcare, etc. Maybe the hope is to try to change laws with enough studies, but meh, I guess I'm a cynic. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114081 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 09:00:56 +0000 Adira 2114081@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Oh my gosh! That is so so sad that she thought that and felt that way! :( And so ridiculous that our society has made any woman feel like that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114072 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:56:31 +0000 catlady 2114072@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>These studies can never capture all the confounding, no matter how much the researchers say they tried to control for things like income and education and whatnot. I feel like all they do is make a large number of women who probably already feel guilty feel even worse. I was able to EBF for LO's first year, but it was extremely difficult and I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it if my family and job weren't so supportive and if I didn't have such a privileged life. </p> <p>My mom breastfed me but was not able to do so with my brother, and due to studies like this one, she blamed herself (!!!) for the fact that I finished college and grad school but my brother failed out of multiple colleges. She literally thought it was because she didn't try harder to breastfeed him. She confessed this to me on her deathbed. It makes me sad to this day thinking about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114057 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:46:48 +0000 kiddosc 2114057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stiletto_mom: They were followed to age 30. there were originally over 5900 babies in the study and they were able to follow around 4000 of them to age 30. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114052 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:45:14 +0000 Truth Bombs 2114052@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stiletto_mom: 30 is the age the children were followed to. The sample size started at 5,914 and they were able to follow up with 68% of participants at age 30. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114051 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:44:54 +0000 Adira 2114051@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I completely agree on how offended I was by that quote! I also EBF my children and I think that has no baring on any of my other choices and definitely don't mean I make better choices regarding other things than parents who don't breastfeed! Honestly, I think that's a ridiculous conclusion to come to.</p> <p>I also think being able to breastfeed that long really is a privilege. You really have to have the means to do so - either you can be a SAHM OR you have a work situation that supports you in pumping. And I think that itself probably ties in more strongly with the other factors - education and income, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114048 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:43:05 +0000 stiletto_mom 2114048@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>While I appreciate the intention and sentiment, I just don't feel that 30 is a good enough sample number. There are SO many other factors that could contribute to IQ and wages (socio-economic status for one). - which also don't necessarily indicate success. </p> <p>I definitely support breast-feeding and a mother's right to decide what is best for her and her child. But I wouldn't say that the longer you breastfeed a child, the "better" it is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2114033 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:35:52 +0000 lawbee11 2114033@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always find long-term studies like this to be really interesting. I'd be really interested in reading the published findings. I was reading about it on the BBC website and they provided this additional information: </p> <p>"Regarding the findings - published in The Lancet Global Health - they stress there are many different factors other than breastfeeding that could have an impact on intelligence, although the researchers did try to rule out the main confounders, such as mother's education, family income and birth weight.</p> <p>Dr Bernardo Lessa Horta, from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil, said his study offers a unique insight because in the population he studied, breastfeeding was evenly distributed across social class - not something just practised by the rich and educated." </p> <p>I'd be interested to see how they controlled for a lot of the other factors mentioned. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-breastfeeding-study-from-brazil#post-2113997 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:19:16 +0000 Truth Bombs 2113997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/18/health/breastfeeding-iq-income/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/18/health/breastfeeding-iq-income/index.html</a></p> <p>This new breastfeeding study out of Brazil has been popping up on pretty much every news site I go to in the last couple days. The study followed almost 6,000 newborns from birth until age 30 (They had a 68% follow up rate to age 30). The study found that the longer the child was breastfed, they were more likely to have a higher IQ and higher wages at age 30. The study did not specifically level the playing field to account for "home life, intellectual stimulation or bonding between mother and child, [and] it was not able to tease out whether these factors may have also contributed to the increase in IQ".</p> <p>In full disclosure my LO was exclusively breastfed until we transitioned to whole milk at 12 months and even then still nursed morning and night until 15 months. I believe strongly that there are benefits to both her and to me from that choice. </p> <p>However, I also recognize that my child leads a pretty privledged life compared to many other children, so if she grows up to be a rocket scientist I certainly don't think we can say my choice to EBF is the reason for it. I also firmly believe that many mothers aren't able to breastfeed because of circumstances that are beyond their control and I certainly don't believe that makes them bad mothers. CNN quoted professor Joan Wolf as a critic of the study and I actually found her quote to be pretty judgemental: "This study does not address the very real possibility that mothers who choose to breastfeed, regardless of income or education, distinguish themselves from those who bottle-feed in all kinds of ways that are likely to promote intelligence". In my opinion, it's one thing to say that many women who aren't able to breastfeed may also be in situations that don't allow their children to thrive because of socioeconomic conditions (through no CHOICE of their own), and therefore breastfeeding or not breastfeeding is not the sole or main reason for differences in the children when they grow up to be adults. But this quote implies to me that mothers who choose to breastfeed also make "better" choices for their children across the board, as opposed to just being blessed with better circumstances. Even as an EBF mom that was pretty offensive to me. </p>