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You are here: Home / Pregnancy / Fertility / Study: Breast feeding may be crucial to brain development

Study: Breast feeding may be crucial to brain development

March 31, 2011 by John Thompson Leave a Comment

There has long been speculation as to why human brains were among the biggest in the animal kingdom, but a new study is attempting to put the to rest. Researchers believe that duration of breastfeeding after birth has a correlation to brain development in certain species – including in people.

The research team was led by Robert Barton from Durham University in the United Kingdom, who examined the brains and breastfeeding duration of 128 different mammals, LiveScience reports. What they found was that the length of time offspring is breast-fed resulted in a relatively larger brain.

"Humans have the biggest brains for their body size." Barton the news source. "Things like dolphins and killer whales aren't that far behind, but there is a big jump between anything else and humans. We take a long time to mature and that seems that's directly related to the development of the largest brain."

What this emphasizes, Barton suggests, is that breastfeeding plays a larger role in brain development than originally thought and the data bolsters the World Health Organization's stance that new mothers nurse for at least six months. However, the team added that their study does not suggest a developmental disparity between breastfed and formula-fed infants. 

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Great Dad Talks is a series of conversations with experts on all aspects of the family adventure. With the perspective that “dads don’t always think like moms,” our mission is to support dad voices and our slightly different approaches to parenting. We’ll try to find solutions to every day challenges like getting kids off the couch and making STEM classes available for both boys and girls. But we’ll also tackle bigger issues when they come. The one main theme will be to support dads in the most important role of their lives that of being a great dad. Connect with us at greatdad.com and watch the video version of these podcasts at YouTube.com/greatdadnews

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Michael shares the transformative power of his unique “spin” method—a tool rooted in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)—that helps kids, parents, and even whole families quickly change negative emotional patterns in just minutes. Listen in as Michael walks Paul through an anxiety-busting spin live, explains why dads’ involvement is critical to healthy families, and shares actionable tips on self-forgiveness and resilience.

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