Sudhakar Jha
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While breastfeeding can lower the risk of developing breast cancer, it doesn’t offer a cure. © Shutterstock
Breast milk has numerous benefits for overall health of babies and a new research has found that babies born before their due date have better cognitive functioning when fed with breast milk rather than powdered milk.
Previous studies have shown that premature birth increases the risk of learning and thinking skills in later life, which may be linked to alterations in brain development. And in this new study, researchers have said that mothers should provide breast milk in the weeks after giving birth which could improve long-term outcomes for children born pre-term.
The team of researchers from University of Edinburgh analysed the MRI brain scans of 47 babies from a study group known as the Theirworld Edinburgh Birth Cohort.
All the 47 babies were born before 33 weeks and the scans were done when the kids reached a term-equivalent age of 40 weeks from conception. The team also got the information about the feeding habits of the infants when they were in intensive care, that s either powered milk or breast milk.
At the end of the study, the team found that kids who exclusively received breast milk for at least three-quarters of the days in the care period showed improved brain connectivity compared to others. The team also found that the effects were higher in kids who were fed breast milk for a more number of times spent in the intensive care.
"Our findings suggest that brain development in the weeks after preterm birth is improved in babies who receive greater amounts of breast milk," said study author James Boardman in the research paper.
In the study, published in the journal of Neurolmage, the author concluded, "Mothers of pre-term babies should be supported to provide breast milk while their baby is in neonatal care - if they are able to and if their baby is well enough to receive milk because this may give their children the best chance of healthy brain development."