Breastfeeding Brighter Babies?
Written on November 7, 2007
There was an article that came out yesterday in BBC News citing a study that claims that breast fed children with a certain allele (variant) of a gene involved in fatty acid metabolism scored seven points higher in IQ tests than formula fed babies. This is one of those studies that I’ve suddenly become interested in since becoming a father. However, whenever I see an article like this in the general press I am skeptical. Often mainstream journalists miss subtleties of scientific papers that cast doubt on the claims that are made. And as a scientist, I know that we often bury doubts or inconsistencies in the research deep in the paper so as to make them less obvious to the reader. I often goto the original research in cases like these to see what’s really going on.
I want to keep this article as a short post, so read the BBC article for the details. But, I would like to give kudos to the BBC writer of this article – he or she has gotten this one mostly right. But there are a number of issues that he or she has missed in the original paper. The biggest problem that I have is that it is not clear from this study, how long the children were breastfed. The study groups are two large groups from New Zealand and Britain in which parents were surveyed when the kids were age two to three as to whether they were breastfed or not. However, there is no indication as to how long the children were breastfed. A second issue that I have is that it is true that in the groups that were studied, the allele of the FADS2 gene that is responsive to breast milk is present in 90% of those tested. However, these groups are almost exclusively of western European ancestry. In the New Zealand study, aboriginal people are even eliminated from the study to avoid potential problems (this is buried in Materials and Methods). There is no indication of how common this allele is outside the British Isles. Third, the scientists have eliminated any variation due to social class, the intelligence of the mother and differences in birth weight. However, variation due to the fathers’ intelligence is not eliminated. Finally, these two groups were studied in the early 70’s and mid-90’s respectively – prior to supplementation of formula with some of the fatty acids that are thought to be important to the IQ boost. Most formulas now include these components.
All that being said, I think that their conclusions are generally valid and breastfeeding certainly is not going to hurt. Personally, I do not have strong feelings about breastfeeding. Sinead is breastfeeding Zach and we’ve got our own personal reasons for making that choice. The current social climate in Britain is a little bit heavy-handed about breastfeeding. So much so that in some cases women may be made to feel as if they’re hurting their children by bottle feeding. I think that this kind of evangelism about breast feeding can be a bit much, particularly if you can not breast feed for whatever reason. It’s important to remember that this as with any scientific study does not prove anything, it only provides more data to support a hypothesis. As the authors of the PNAS study say themselves, “although evidence [for this hypothesis] is mounting, it has not yet been proven.”
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Aww – sweet photo. Don’t know about the study…but my both kiddos were exclusively breastfed (until over two years old) and they. are. brilliant.
*grin*
Breastfeeding is such a frustrating topic. On one hand, in the US at least, we put such pressure on most moms to nurse. Our Govt recently had an ad campaign to encourage breastfeeding that compared formula-feeding an infant to riding a mechanical bull while pregnant. For real. But there is also a largely prudish public here who apparently get repulsed by seeing women nurse outside their homes. So, you’re supposed to breastfeed, but you’re supposed to sequester yourself at home for the duration lest anyone get offended by the sight.
Ahh…sorry I’ve not touched on your topic. For the record, I had much difficulty with my firstborn, and by three months, she was entirely formula fed. My second born was much easier, and I nursed her for 18 months.
I thank you for not being judgemental towards either side. I have been made to feel like less of a parent/mother/person – whatever for not breastfeeding although in my heart my reasons are valid.
My son was BF for about a month – by that time it was still a struggle and he was losing weight. I was also put on a medication for cardiac reasons that I did not want passed to him.
My daughter was both BF and Bottle Fed for 6 months… Then she was diagnosised with severe allergies and it was highly recommended we stop both – and start her on a fully amino-acid based (very expensive) formula. Her world and mine changed for the better once we made that change.
I support women who are ablet o breastfeed and I also suppor those who act as positive activists towards this – it is good – if it’s possible – but for those who are such activists that they forget there is a portion of us who just can’t and we shouldn’t be made to feel bad about those choices. I was not breastfed – neither was my husband – we both turned out pretty darn good.
VERY CUTE PHOTO BY THE WAY!
Cute photo. I’m happy my 8 month old grandson is still nursing.
PS I see those Packer socks. I’m in Wisconsin.
Hsien-Hsien Lei at Eye on DNA has more on the FADS2 and breastfeeding story here:
http://www.eyeondna.com/2007/11/06/fads2-gene-linked-to-higher-iq-in-breastfed-children/
Check it out for a different perspective.
Both my boys were BF and supplemented with organic soy formula (lactose intolerance problems). They are both extremely healthy with no food allergies and never an ear infection in either one. Grayson is probably the healthier one and he was supplemented more and off the boob by four months, where Grant was rarely supplemented and stayed on the boob for ten months. I think health and intelligence are largely inherited from the parents (I’m reluctant to say “it in their genes” on this website!) Thanks for posting this, Chris!