Could your baby’s IQ even be influenced by breastmilk? Researchers say “yes.” Consider this: In a study published in 1993 in the British medial journal Lancet, eight-year-olds who were given breastmilk in the first month of life scored 8.3 IQ points higher than another group fed formula.

In another study published in 1996 in the Journal of Human Lactation, 4-month-old babies exclusively fed breastmilk were compared to another group of four-month-olds fed formula or breastmilk supplemented by formula. The researchers found that babies fed only breast-milk “differed significantly” from the other groups, including the group fed a combination of mother’s milk and formula. Exclusive breastfeeders were ahead in both physical and behavioral development, keeping up with all of those “what your baby may be doing” charts and even exceeding many of the developmental milestones, unlike many in the other group. They were checked and compared again at a year and the differences still held up.

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