I found this very interesting news brief today…. it supports the view of the WHO, AAP, AAFP and Unicef’s recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months with continued breastfeeding for a minimum of 2 years.
“Doctors are keen to introduce solids as early as possible as a supplement to breast feeding – and they couldn’t be more wrong.
Babies who are exclusively breastfed for the first three months at least – and sometimes for the first 12 months – have better cognitive abilities and general intelligence by the time they are six.
Compared with children who were fed solids early on, breastfed babies registered far higher scores for verbal IQ, performance IQ and general IQ when they were tested at six-and-a-half years.
Researchers made the discovery when they assessed the cognitive development of 13,889 children who were exclusively breastfed for a prolonged period.”
Natural families and lifestyle 