Recent research: Women who breastfed performed better in cognitive tests in later life

Quick Summary: A recent study suggests breastfeeding could have long-term benefits for a mother’s brain.

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A recent study has found women aged over 50 who breastfed their babies performed better in cognitive tests compared to women who had never breastfed.

Indeed, when all the time spent breastfeeding is added up, researchers found women who breastfed the longest scored the highest in cognitive tests.

This suggests the biological and psychosocial benefits of breastfeeding, for example improved stress regulation, may have a positive impact on the cognitive performance of postmenopausal women.

In other words, breastfeeding could be associated with long-term superior cognitive performance for the mother. It could also mean that breastfeeding may be ‘neuroprotective’ later in life.

The study by Fox M et al., was published in Evolution, Medicine and Public Health in 2021.

The study:

Two cross-sectional randomized controlled 12-week clinical trials were conducted at UCLA Health.

Among the two trials, 115 women chose to participate. 64 women identified as depressed and 51 were not depressed.