Breastfeeding for longer could help teens excel in exams

By Alice Clifford via SWNS

Moms who breastfeed help their kids do better in exams when they are teenagers, a new study reveals.

Children who are breastfed for longer are more likely to gain better results in their GSCEs at age 16 compared with non-breastfed children.

Researchers found that this remained true even after taking into account people’s socioeconomic status and their parents’ intelligence.

A team of researchers analyzed data on a large group of British children who were included in the Millennium Cohort Study.

The study enrolled just under 19,000 children born between 2000 and 2002 living in the UK.

Each child was followed up at ages three, five, seven, 11, 14, 17 and 22.

This data was linked to the National Pupil Dataset, which stores the academic data of students enrolled in English state schools.

They then analyzed a nationally representative group of just under 5,000 participants from England up to age 16 and looked at the results of their secondary school exams, specifically their GCSEs in English and math.

The Attainment 8 score, which is the sum of all the GCSEs taken by the children, was also analyzed.

Around a third of the teenagers, just over 32 percent, were never breastfed, and the remainder were breastfed for different periods.

Only 9.5 percent were breastfed for at least 12 months.

The study revealed that the longer a child was breastfed, the better they did in their exams.

Only around a fifth, just over 19 percent, of children who were breastfed for over 12 months failed their English GCSE compared with 41.7 percent of those who never were breastfed.

Of the teens, 28.5 percent of those breastfed for at least 12 months achieved a high pass, either an A or A*, compared with 9.6 percent among non-breastfed children.

For GCSE math, just under 24 percent of children who were breastfed for over 12 months failed their test, compared with 41.9 percent of those who never breastfed.

Meanwhile, just over 31 percent of those who were breastfed for at least 12 months achieved either an A or an A* compared with 11 percent among non-breastfed children.

Compared with children who never breastfed, children who breastfed for at least 12 months were 39 percent more likely to have a high pass for both exams and were 25 percent less likely to fail the English exam.

Previous studies have suggested that children who breastfed for longer have improved educational outcomes later in life.

However, these results are relatively scarce, and most have not taken into account potential factors that could influence outcomes.

Factors include the fact that mothers from a higher socioeconomic status or with higher intelligence scores are more likely to breastfeed their children for longer and have children who get higher results in exams.

There were some limitations in the study. It was not possible to link the National Pupil Dataset for around 4,000 children as they did not consent to be followed.

A further 1,292 children were not followed up to age 14 when maternal cognitive ability was measured.

Study author, Dr. Reneé Pereyra-Elías from the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, said: “Breastfeeding duration was associated with improved educational outcomes at age 16 among children living in England, after controlling for important confounders.

“However, the effect sizes were modest and may be susceptible to residual confounding.

"Breastfeeding should continue to be encouraged, when possible, as potential improvements in academic achievement constitute only one of its potential benefits.

“Future studies should adjust for both socioeconomic circumstances comprehensive and maternal general intelligence.”

The study was published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.