Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 339, Issue 8788, 1 February 1992, Pages 261-264
The Lancet

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Breast milk and subsequent intelligence quotient in children born preterm

https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(92)91329-7Get rights and content

Abstract

There is considerable controversy over whether nutrition in early life has a long-term influence on neurodevelopment. We have shown previously that, in preterm infants, mother's choice to provide breast milk was associated with higher developmental scores at 18 months. We now report data on intelligence quotient (IQ) in the same children seen at 71/2-8 years. IQ was assessed in 300 children with an abbreviated version of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (revised Anglicised). Children who had consumed mother's milk in the early weeks of life had a significantly higher IQ at 71/2-8 years than did those who received no maternal milk. An 8·3 point advantage (over half a standard deviation) in IQ remained even after adjustment for differences between groups in mother's education and social class (p<0·0001). This advantage was associated with being fed mother's milk by tube rather than with the process of breastfeeding. There was a dose-response relation between the proportion of mother's milk in the diet and subsequent IQ. Children whose mothers chose to provide milk but failed to do so had the same IQ as those whose mothers elected not to provide breast milk. Although these results could be explained by differences between groups in parenting skills or genetic potential (even after adjustment for social and educational factors), our data point to a beneficial effect of human milk on neurodevelopment.

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