Breastfeeding responsible for social advancement

British researchers are exploring the link between breastfeeding and social advancement

06/25/2013

Breastfeeding or bottle feeding? A topic that repeatedly causes controversial discussions. For several years, more and more women are choosing to breastfeed their children - and are now receiving support from British researchers.

The topic of breastfeeding repeatedly causes controversial discussions
Breastfeeding has been the topic of discussion for years: for some, breast milk is the best thing to do, because breastfeeding promotes a close bond between mother and child and prevents illnesses. On the other hand, there are women who can not or will not breastfeed for health reasons, who return to work quickly after giving birth, or who want to share the child's feeding within the partnership.

The popularity of breastfeeding is subject to the zeitgeist
The popularity of breastfeeding is constantly changing with the zeitgeist - more and more women are choosing to breast-feed their children, and this trend is supported by a variety of studies showing the benefits of breast-feeding versus artificially-produced replacement foods. For example, an American study in 2004 found that the risk of infant mortality in breast-fed babies was significantly lower in the United States than in non-breastfed babies. Other studies, for example, found that breast milk improves children's lung function, or that breastfed babies are much better protected against infectious diseases and, therefore, would become significantly less likely to become ill during the first year of life than children who did not receive breastmilk.

Positive effects also on the intelligence quotient
But for some years, in terms of breastfeeding yet another plus point is suspected: Because in addition to the health benefits this may also have a positive effect on the intelligence quotient from an expert's perspective - and therefore lead to breastfed babies as adults socially better would be placed as non-breastfed children.

British researchers interview more than 33,000 people
In order accordingly „the relationship between breastfeeding and intergenerational social mobility and the possible mediating role of neurological and stress mechanisms“ to investigate, British scientists from the „University College London“, now one „Secondary analysis of data from two large-scale UK cohort studies“ carried out. For these long-term studies, 17,419 people from the 1958 year and around 16,771 from the 1970s were screened by collecting the health and social data of all subjects from the tenth and eleventh to their 33rd and 34th birthday, respectively.

Chance of social advancement in breastfed children increased by a quarter
The British researchers came to an interesting conclusion: „Persons who had been breastfed increased the likelihood of social advancement, with equal opportunities for social advancement within the 1958 cohort and the 1970s cohort“, the researchers in the current issue of the journal „Archives of Disease in Childhood“ - and continue writing: „Breastfeeding was also associated with the risk of social decline, with breastfeeding members of the respective cohorts less likely to move to lower socio-economic positions.“

According to the survey, the children who had been breastfed had a one-quarter chance of social advancement, which is why researchers say that the benefits of breast-milk nutrition are sustainable: „Our study extends the understanding of the health benefits of breastfeeding by showing that it can have lifelong social benefits, "the researchers added.

Also the emotional well-being of former nursing children is higher
In addition to the social benefits, the researchers were also able to show that the emotional well-being in the group of formerly breastfed people, at the age of ten as well as 33 years was greater. According to experts, this could be triggered by the polyunsaturated fatty acids: these are needed in the development of the brain and are found in high concentrations in breast milk - thus, it can be assumed that the milk is the brain's development and thus the intelligence and intelligence of the brain could positively influence the chances for social advancement.

Not to be neglected: The close skin contact during breastfeeding
However, according to the researchers, it was not easy to measure how breastfeeding would affect the life-long emotional bond between mother and child, whereby it can be assumed that breastfeeding would also increase this. However, direct skin contact should not be neglected either, because according to the scientists, this would also be an important factor contributing to the current results.

WHO recommends breastfeeding for six months
Organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or the National Breastfeeding Commission are clearly in favor of breastfeeding, but there are differing views on breastfeeding for infants, as the WHO recommends breast-feeding for at least six months and only then mentioned „supplementary diet“ A few years ago, British researchers came to the conclusion that babies in industrialized countries should be fed with other foods in addition to breast milk from the fourth month onwards.

Allergies and iron deficiency due to long breastfeeding?
The research team then analyzed a number of recent studies on breastfeeding and concluded that babies who are fully breastfed for longer may suffer from allergies and iron deficiency. A middle course is the recommendation of the German Nutrition Society (DGE): „The introduction of complementary foods is recommended for babies after the 6th month of life, at the earliest after the completed 4th month of life. This recommendation also applies to allergy-prone infants (7, 9). The aim of the recommendation is to delay contact with potentially allergenic foods for as long as possible.“ (No)