Breastfeeding has been known to bring a lot of benefits to kids. Some studies say that it can make the child smarter, while others state that it can make him or her develop faster. A new research shows that some of the benefits of breastfed kids might not be real.
While it is great for children to be breastfed, the benefits are not that big as it was previously believed. This new study focused on understanding the benefits that may come to breastfed kids. It showed that they might be less hyperactive than kids that were not breastfed.
This is not the first study that looks for evidence about the cognitive development of breastfed kids. Despite the fact that this research wanted to strengthen the idea the breastfeeding makes children smarter, the researchers were not able to find a link.
In order to conduct this study, scientists analyzed almost 8,000 kids. These children were monitored by scientists since they were 9 months old. When the kids turned 3, the researchers evaluated their cognitive abilities. The parents were also asked about the development of their children.
Researchers were trying to find a strong connection between breastfed kids and their stronger cognitive abilities. They were not able to find the link. This is because the difference between breastfed kids and the children that were not breastfed were not that big.
The only benefit found is the lack of hyperactivity. Kids that were breastfed for at least 6 months were less likely to be hyperactive when compared to children that were not breastfed. This benefit was only applicable to 3 year-olds.
When the kids turned 5, the risk of hyperactivity was almost the same for both breastfeed kids and the other children. The researchers also mentioned that children who were breastfed for a shorter period or were not breastfed at all did not show any delays in cognitive development.
A limitation of the study is the fact that only kids who were breastfed for more than 6 moths were studied. This shows that the most important thing is for how long they were breastfed, not if they were or not.
What is your opinion about this study? Did you know that breastfed kids are less likely to be hyperactive?
Image source: Wikipedia
Roxanne Briean
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