Breast milk is highly recommended to be given to babies, especially during the first 6 months of life. This is because breast milk has a lot of benefits, starting from giving nutrition to the baby, increasing the baby's immunity, to the benefits for the development of his brain. In fact, some say that Breast Milk makes children smart. Is that right?
Breast milk is the most perfect baby food for the first six months
Breast milk is the most perfect baby food. Nothing compares to the benefits of breast milk in infants, even formula milk that has been specifically designed to replace breast milk alone cannot match breast milk.
Newborns have imperfect digestion and immature immunity. Well, breastfeeding in newborns can help babies overcome this. This is because breast milk is easily digested by babies, and contains nutrients and antibodies needed by newborns.
Therefore, the world health institution and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia recommend that children be given breast milk alone (exclusive breastfeeding) for the first six months of their lives. At this time, Breast Milk is needed by children and breast milk alone is sufficient to support growth and development. After six months, breastfeeding is still recommended until the child is two years old, but is accompanied by other feeding.
Is it true that Breast Milk makes children smart?
Many studies have linked the benefits of breast milk to brain development and intelligence of children. One of them is research conducted by Dr. Bernardo Lessa Horta from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil.
Research conducted by following the development of participants up to the age of 30 years proves that babies who are breastfed for at least the first year of life will grow smarter as adults and can have more income, reported Today.
This is also reinforced by other studies conducted by Dr. Betty Vohr, professor from Brown University. The study also said that babies who were given more breast milk showed a higher IQ.
Research by Dr. Michael Kramer, professor from McGill University also mentioned the same thing. The study also found that the longer the baby was breastfed, the greater the potential of the baby to have a higher IQ. Other studies also show that ASI babies grow smarter than babies who are bottle-fed.
According to Horta, this could happen probably because of the presence of long chain unsaturated fatty acids or docosahexanoic acid (DHA) contained in breast milk. This fatty acid is very important for brain development. In addition to DHA, breast milk also contains ARA, protein, taurine, and several enzymes that are important for the development of nerve tissue. This is what might underlie why breast milk influences the intelligence of children.
Not only the content of Breast Milk, when breastfeeding is actually an attempt to build a closer bond between mother and child. It also has a beneficial effect on the child's brain development.
Other factors may affect children's intelligence
Of the several studies mentioned above, Breast Milk is proven to make smart children. However, of course there are many other factors that influence children's intelligence, among others, such as the closeness between parents and children, stimuli received by children to support their brain development, family background, and so forth.