| Sumario: | There is considerable evidence that consistently shows that artificially-fed infants have lower intelligent quotients (IQ) than breastfed infants. IQ is a measure of cognitive ability or intelligence. Cognitive development refers to growth in a range of thinking and learning skills including language, attention, planning, problem solving and memory. Breastfeeding optimises brain development and consequently optimises cognitive development and intelligence. This paper reviews the most recent evidence for an effect of breastfeeding on cognitive development, but goes beyond IQ, beyond just a number, and looks at just what kind of brain development happens when infants are breastfed and what developmental, educational and social consequences occur when infants are artificially fed.
|
|---|