Breast feeding for longer 'could help babies develop bigger brains'

Breast feeding for longer could help babies develop bigger brains, new research has revealed.

A three-year study of 128 mammal species, including humans, found that longer pregnancies and longer suckling times produce bigger brains in babies - possibly leading to a higher IQ.

The research, carried out by Durham University scientists, has been welcomed by
specialists and adds more weight to the argument that 'breast is best.'

Professor Robert Barton from the university's Department of Anthropology, said: 'Our findings cannot say whether formula milk for babies is adequate or just as good as a mother's milk in the development of a baby's brain, but it does raise questions that could be further investigated.

'The research we have done helps us to understand what the implications are of
evolutionary changes at different stages before and after birth.

'And we have discovered that brain growth in babies is linked to the amount of time and energy mothers invest in their child.

'There is a strong relationship between specific issues in the way a mother invests in producing her offspring and a link between growth of the foetus and length of gestation.

'We now need to do more research into how growth before and after birth affects the anatomy of the brain.'

The scientists focused on brain and body size, maternal investment and life history variables in mammals, such as gorillas and whales. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study
suggests that women who breastfeed their babies for up to three years following
nine-month pregnancies have a long period of dependency because it is required
to support the growth of 1,300 cubic centimetre (cc) brains.

But animals such as fallow deer, which have roughly the same body weight as humans, are pregnant for just seven months with a suckling period of up to six
months.

This results in 220cc brains - six times smaller than human brains.

Helen Robinson, public health specialist at NHS North of Tyne, said the analysis will support the World Health Organisation's advice of six months exclusive breastfeeding followed by suckling up to the age of two or beyond, supplemented with solid foods.

She added: 'This reinforces the need to encourage mothers to breastfeed in the first six months of a child's life and then for as long as possible after that.'

Mother-of-three Kerrie Graham, 27, from Newcastle, is breastfeeding her 10-month-old son Owen.

She said: 'It's really encouraging. It just goes to show how important breastfeeding is.'

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