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Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

bbc.com

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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#91
post #30
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some cases, the pressure to breastfeed can do more harm than good. If the parent is feeling stressed, as it can be an extremely intense and also painful experience, the bonding process can suffer. More importantly, some mothers just cannot produce enough milk. The father of my adopted son forced my wife to breastfeed. Over a 3 month period, the poor boy lost a dangerous amount of weight and needed a stay in hospit…

"More importantly, some mothers just cannot produce enough milk" - Is there any anecdotal evidence to prove this. One lactation consultant told us that this claim is totally false. According to her, all women who give birth can and will produce enough breast milk and she had the evidence to prove that.

Surely some mothers cannot produce enough milk, but this is the rallying cry justifying reverting to formula, much as "the baby was too big" is the rationalization for cesarean delivery. Surely it is true in some very small percentage of cases, but it cannot explain away the measured variations and choosing the sub-optimal path. Everyone has their own anecdote, but they can't all be biologically incapable of breastfeeding.

Take the CDC's data for example: http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/2014breastfeedingreport...

When you see breastfeeding at 6 months rates by state that vary from lows in the 30's to highs in the 60's, biology can't explain it away.

And from the Surgeon General's report on Barriers to Breastfeeding ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52688/ ):

"Concern about insufficient milk supply is another frequently cited reason for early weaning of the infant.90,113–116 One national study on feeding practices found that about 50 percent of mothers cited insufficient milk supply as their reason for stopping breastfeeding.112 Having a poor milk supply can result from infrequent feeding or poor breastfeeding techniques,115,117–119 but lack of confidence in breastfeeding or not understanding the normal physiology of lactation can lead to the perception of an insufficient milk supply when in fact the quantity is enough to nurture the baby.120,121"

Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#92
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found a big improvement to my model just after the contest was over, so I made a proposal to develop the improved model and do some more in-depth analysis. I'm currently waiting for their reply! If they accept I'll have an opportunity to look deeper -- it's one thing to develop an efficient model, but fully exploiting it in order to gain a better understanding of the data takes some work. A limitation of these cont…

Pardon a possibly dumb question, but what are kinds of data are considered "demographic" in your specific case? Can you give some examples?

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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#93
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Breastfeeding removes the father's ability to independently take care of an infant." This whole mammal thing is seriously backwards then. We should have evolved from snakes (whose offspring takes care of itself completely independently which supposedly is an excellent kind of dynamic.)

Also father of 2. Wife breast-fed both kids to about 14 months. I frequently gave a bottle (of breastmilk) to the first. Second wouldn't take the bottle at all. I never felt left out of the process. I changed (and still change) diapers and contribute in other ways. Mommy mostly handled bedtime until breastfeeding was over - now I frequently handle bedtime. With the second child, during the first year I handled most o…

> Women are literally MADE to do this and I don't care what modern "gender equality" proponents might make of that statement.

That's a fallacious, appeal to nature argument. People should raise their kids how they want, and should feel free to make their parenting choices rationally. What's "natural" or what women are "made to do" shouldn't enter into the equation. "Naturally" something like 1 in 25 women died of childbirth.

There are good reasons to breastfeed. But there are also good reasons not to breastfeed. My wife and I bottle-fed from early on. I did all the night feedings, because I handle interrupted sleep better than she does. At the same time, I have little patience for after-work playtime, and am happy to let my wife handle that. It's an arrangement that takes advantages of our relative strengths that would not be practical without infant formula.

Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#94
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also father of 2. Wife breast-fed both kids to about 14 months. I frequently gave a bottle (of breastmilk) to the first. Second wouldn't take the bottle at all. I never felt left out of the process. I changed (and still change) diapers and contribute in other ways. Mommy mostly handled bedtime until breastfeeding was over - now I frequently handle bedtime. With the second child, during the first year I handled most o…

> Women are literally MADE to do this and I don't care what modern "gender equality" proponents might make of that statement. That's a fallacious, appeal to nature argument. People should raise their kids how they want, and should feel free to make their parenting choices rationally. What's "natural" or what women are "made to do" shouldn't enter into the equation. "Naturally" something like 1 in 25 women died of chi…

There are considerable benefits to breastfeeding, so while it's totally the mother's choice and we should avoid undue pressure it's wrog to say that there are only small benefits to breastfeeding.

Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#95
post #94
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Women are literally MADE to do this and I don't care what modern "gender equality" proponents might make of that statement. That's a fallacious, appeal to nature argument. People should raise their kids how they want, and should feel free to make their parenting choices rationally. What's "natural" or what women are "made to do" shouldn't enter into the equation. "Naturally" something like 1 in 25 women died of chi…

There are considerable benefits to breastfeeding, so while it's totally the mother's choice and we should avoid undue pressure it's wrog to say that there are only small benefits to breastfeeding.

There are few long-term (for first-world babies) once you adjust for socioeconomic and socioenvironmental factors: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/sibbreast.htm; http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_exa...; http://www.ntnu.edu/news/breastfeeding; http://www.skepticalob.com/2014/02/hold-the-guil-new-study-f...; http://time.com/99746/its-time-to-end-the-breast-is-best-myt....

I would put "huge benefits to breastfeeding" right up there with medical myths that have been recently debunked, such as "dietary cholesterol raises blood cholesterol" or "salt causes hypertension."

Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#96
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"More importantly, some mothers just cannot produce enough milk" - Is there any anecdotal evidence to prove this. One lactation consultant told us that this claim is totally false. According to her, all women who give birth can and will produce enough breast milk and she had the evidence to prove that.

She sounds like a real peach. Honestly that opinion seems more colored by her political views (i.e. breast feeding good, formula evil) than any scientific or medical evidence. I've met lactation consultants just like that, and they often go into diatribes about how hospitals/doctors are evil and push formula on new mothers (which wasn't true at all, in fact the hospital we used had a nurse specifically to help mother…

Is "breastfeeding good, formula evil" really a political view?

It is not hard to find cases of formula being promoted over breastfeeding to the detriment of infant health and development. Case in point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott

Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#97
post #59

The 1-3 point IQ advantage is widely and consistently reported in the literature, and it's probably right as far as it goes. However, studies that additionally adjust for socioenvironmental factors (mothers who breastfeed are more likely to read to kids, have larger vocabularies, etc), show results around 1 IQ point: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1633786 . The "mothers should have the option" bit in the…

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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#98
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Breastfeeding removes the father's ability to independently take care of an infant." This whole mammal thing is seriously backwards then. We should have evolved from snakes (whose offspring takes care of itself completely independently which supposedly is an excellent kind of dynamic.)

Also father of 2. Wife breast-fed both kids to about 14 months. I frequently gave a bottle (of breastmilk) to the first. Second wouldn't take the bottle at all. I never felt left out of the process. I changed (and still change) diapers and contribute in other ways. Mommy mostly handled bedtime until breastfeeding was over - now I frequently handle bedtime. With the second child, during the first year I handled most o…

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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#99
post #59

The 1-3 point IQ advantage is widely and consistently reported in the literature, and it's probably right as far as it goes. However, studies that additionally adjust for socioenvironmental factors (mothers who breastfeed are more likely to read to kids, have larger vocabularies, etc), show results around 1 IQ point: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1633786 . The "mothers should have the option" bit in the…

>Also often ignored is how these choices affect fathers. My wife and just adopted and its hard not to feel second class when there's all this horse wisdom about breastfeeding, which just isn't an option for us. Thankfully, I don't see 1-3 IQ points as having any practical advantage. I could see perhaps 10+ as being meaningful. We're not even sure what IQ measures other than the ability to take IQ tests. I'm not sayin…

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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'

#100
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also father of 2. Wife breast-fed both kids to about 14 months. I frequently gave a bottle (of breastmilk) to the first. Second wouldn't take the bottle at all. I never felt left out of the process. I changed (and still change) diapers and contribute in other ways. Mommy mostly handled bedtime until breastfeeding was over - now I frequently handle bedtime. With the second child, during the first year I handled most o…

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