Monday, July 2, 2012

It's the mother, not the milk...

...that helps the development of a baby's brain. The idea that breastfeeding plays a role? Not according to the research evidence. See our piece in Bloomberg View that lays out the evidence that this is a myth. So what can you do? Talk, talk, talk to the baby.

Needless to say, if you don't believe us, read the evidence! The essay contains links to literature. For additional direct access to key literature, browse these technical papers.

4 comments:

marksyzm said...

No commercial influence here then.

Man From Atlan said...

Hi, Dr. Wang,
You might want to look at the research on baby skin to skin massage as a way of stimulating brain development: Winkley,1999, and Guzetta in a 2008 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience

Best wishes on your Election site, I;ve passed it on to many on Huffington Post.

Sam Wang said...

Mark: none at all.

Indie Pereira said...

As a breastfeeding counselor, I stress that its the act of breastfeeding rather than the milk that makes babies smarter. Its the interaction that the act of nursing at the breast pushes most of us into doing. When a woman does not breastfeed, I try to take the opportunity to tell her about bottle nursing so she can be intentional about interacting with her baby.