母乳喂养能提高早产儿智商
http://www.100md.com
2000年12月29日
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low birthweight infants who are breast-fed or given breast milk in a bottle appear to have slightly higher IQs at ages 7 and 8 compared with similar children who are not given breast milk, a new study suggests.
``These findings add to the growing body of evidence to suggest that breast feeding may have a small long-term benefits for child cognitive (intellectual) development,'' according to the report in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal Neonatal Edition.
Dr. L.J. Horwood of Christchurch School of Medicine in New Zealand and colleagues tested the IQs of 413 children ages 7 and 8 who at weighed less than 3.3 pounds (1500 grams) at birth.
About 73% of the infants had been given expressed breast milk and 37% breast-fed for four months or longer.
The longer the duration of breastfeeding the greater impact on IQ scores, the researchers report. Those children fed breast milk for 8 months or longer had verbal IQ scores 6 points higher than those who did not receive breast milk.
The researchers tried to take into account the many other factors that can affect a child's IQ, including the mother's education and family income. However, this type of study can not conclusively determine that breast milk alone was responsible for the IQ difference.
However, this and other studies add ``to growing research evidence supporting a positive association between breast milk exposure and enhanced IQ.''
Health experts overwhelmingly agree that breast milk is the best nutrition source for babies. Experts recommend that women exclusively breast feed for the first 4 to 6 months and continue breast feeding up to a year of age, if possible.
Currently, 64% of US women try breast-feeding their newborn, but only 29% are still breast-feeding 6 months later. The rates are particularly low among poor women and among African Americans.
SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal Neonatal Edition 2001;84:F23-F27., http://www.100md.com
``These findings add to the growing body of evidence to suggest that breast feeding may have a small long-term benefits for child cognitive (intellectual) development,'' according to the report in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal Neonatal Edition.
Dr. L.J. Horwood of Christchurch School of Medicine in New Zealand and colleagues tested the IQs of 413 children ages 7 and 8 who at weighed less than 3.3 pounds (1500 grams) at birth.
About 73% of the infants had been given expressed breast milk and 37% breast-fed for four months or longer.
The longer the duration of breastfeeding the greater impact on IQ scores, the researchers report. Those children fed breast milk for 8 months or longer had verbal IQ scores 6 points higher than those who did not receive breast milk.
The researchers tried to take into account the many other factors that can affect a child's IQ, including the mother's education and family income. However, this type of study can not conclusively determine that breast milk alone was responsible for the IQ difference.
However, this and other studies add ``to growing research evidence supporting a positive association between breast milk exposure and enhanced IQ.''
Health experts overwhelmingly agree that breast milk is the best nutrition source for babies. Experts recommend that women exclusively breast feed for the first 4 to 6 months and continue breast feeding up to a year of age, if possible.
Currently, 64% of US women try breast-feeding their newborn, but only 29% are still breast-feeding 6 months later. The rates are particularly low among poor women and among African Americans.
SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal Neonatal Edition 2001;84:F23-F27., http://www.100md.com