Switch to हिंदी

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

हिंदी
  • Health A-Z
  • Home Remedies
  • Diseases
    • Type 1 Diabetes
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Cancer
    • Heart Attack
    • Pneumonia
    • Diseases A-Z
  • Diet & Fitness
    • Weight Management
    • Exercise & Body Building
    • Diet & Recipes
    • Yoga
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Pregnancy
    • Conceiving
    • Infertility
    • Labour & Delivery
    • Pregnancy week-by-week
    • Breastfeeding
    • Baby Names
  • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Hair
    • Grooming
  • Photos
  • Videos
Home / Parenting / World Breastfeeding Week: Get to know how nursing helps boost your baby’s brainpower

World Breastfeeding Week: Get to know how nursing helps boost your baby’s brainpower

On the occasion of the World Breastfeeding Week, let’s understand how breastfeeding contributes to your child’s cognitive and brain development.

By: Longjam Dineshwori   | | Updated: August 3, 2020 8:37 am
Tags: Brain power  Breastfeeding benefits  World Breastfeeding Week  World Breastfeeding Week 2020  
Breastfeeding
World Breastfeeding Week: स्तनपान कराने वाली हर मां को पता होनी चाहिए ये बातें

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for your baby. It can provide all of the nutrients essential for growth and development of a baby as well as antibodies to help the little one fight off viruses and bacteria. Studies have also shown that breastfeeding can offer emotional benefits to both children and mothers. Breastfeeding can also reduce the mother’s risk of obesity, hypertension and breast cancer. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is a global campaign to raise awareness about breastfeeding. It is an annual celebration which is being held every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries. Also Read - Breastfeeding Can Prevent Build-up Of Visceral, Pericardial Fat: Lower Risk Of Cardiovascular Diseases

The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2020 is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet”. In line with this theme, WHO and UNICEF are calling on governments to make skilled breastfeeding counselling available to every woman. On the occasion of the World Breastfeeding Week, let’s understand how breastfeeding can contribute to your child’s cognitive and brain development. Also Read - Drink cow's milk while breastfeeding to reduce your child’s risk of food allergies



Breastfeeding can increase a baby’s brain growth by 20 to 30%

A 2013 study published in the journal NeuroImage claimed that just 3 months of breastfeeding can increase brain growth by 20 to 30 percent. Researchers at Brown University looked at the brain growth of 133 babies ranging in ages from 10 months to four years using a very quiet and baby-friendly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Also Read - Regular afternoon nap can keep your brain sharp - Reality or myth?

They focussed on the microstructure of the brain’s white matter, the tissue that contains long nerve fibers and helps different parts of the brain communicate with each other. Specifically, they looked for amounts of myelin, the fatty material that insulates nerve fibers and speeds up the electrical signals between neural networks within the brain.

The babies who had been breastfed exclusively for at least three months were found to have the fastest growth in myelinated white matter compared to children who were fed formula exclusively or who were fed a combination of formula and breastmilk. According to the researchers, the extra growth was most pronounced in parts of the brain associated with language, emotional function, and cognition.

The researchers also found significantly enhanced brain growth in the babies who were breastfed for more than a year — especially in areas of the brain dealing with motor function. Further cognitive tests on the older children showed increased language performance, visual perception, and motor control performance in the breastfed group.

Breastfeeding till the age of one may boost your child’s IQ

Another study published in the same year found an association between breastfeeding and children’s later mental abilities. The study, carried out by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health in the US, found that children whose mothers breastfed for longer did better in language tests at age three and IQ tests at seven than children who were weaned earlier.

According to the4 researchers, nutrients in breast milk, such as n-fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may benefit the developing brain.

The results were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.

Breastfeeding benefits for mom

Breastfeeding can boost mothers’ health as well. Studies have shown that women who breastfeed have lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer, as well as postmenopausal osteoporosis. Nursing mothers tend to lose pregnancy weight easily and have delayed menstruation. In addition, the oxytocin released during breastfeeding helps your uterus contract, reducing post-delivery blood loss.

Published : August 2, 2020 6:02 pm | Updated:August 3, 2020 8:37 am
Read Disclaimer

Raksha Bandhan: 5 signs that your kids aren’t bonding well: Help them get along

Raksha Bandhan: 5 signs that your kids aren’t bonding well: Help them get along

World Breastfeeding Week: How to keep your baby safe while nursing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

World Breastfeeding Week: How to keep your baby safe while nursing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Please Wait. Article Loading ....

Coronavirus Updates

Coronavirus Updates

Stay Informed, Be Safe

  • Noida, Ghaziabad faces acute vaccine shortage: People turned back from hospitals amid surge in COVID-19 cases
  • Maharashtra vaccine shortage: Health Minister seeks 'criteria-based policy' for vaccine quota to states
  • What extra precautions should heart patients take during the pandemic?
  • More Restrictions In Delhi Imminent, Kejriwal Warns, As Delhi Records 8,521 New COVID-19 Cases In 24 Hours
  • After AstraZeneca, Another COVID-19 Vaccine Comes Under The Scanner For Causing Unusual Blood Clots

Health Calculators

BMI Calculator
bmi Calculator
Ideal Body Weight
ideal body weight
Daily Calorie Intake
Daily calorie intake
Calories Burned
calories burned

Related Stories

Breastfeeding Can Prevent Build-up Of Visceral, Pericardial Fat: Lower Risk Of Cardiovascular Diseases

Breastfeeding Can Prevent Build-up Of Visceral, Pericardial Fat: Lower Risk Of Cardiovascular Diseases

Drink cow's milk while breastfeeding to reduce your child’s risk of food allergies

Drink cow's milk while breastfeeding to reduce your child’s risk of food allergies

Regular afternoon nap can keep your brain sharp - Reality or myth?

Regular afternoon nap can keep your brain sharp - Reality or myth?

Cocoa and 5 other brain foods that can make you smarter

Cocoa and 5 other brain foods that can make you smarter

Boost your brain power with these everyday foods

Boost your brain power with these everyday foods

Health News in Hindi

Corona Cases In UP: यूपी में कोरोना ने लिया विकराल रूप, लखनऊ में आए 4059 नए मरीज

बड़ों की तुलना में बच्चों में कोरोना से संक्रमित होने की संभावना कम: शोध

दिल्ली में कोरोना वायरस के चलते नहीं होगा लॉकडाउन, केजरीवाल ने कहा-लगेंगे नए प्रतिबंध

चुनाव वाले 5 राज्‍यों में भी बढ़ने लगे कोरोना के मामले, एक दिन में 56 लोगों की मौत, चुनाव आयोग सख्‍त

Beauty Tips: रातोंरात चेहरे की चमक हो जाएगी दोगुनी, सिर्फ सोने से पहले करें ये एक छोटा सा काम

Read All

Recent Posts

  • Noida, Ghaziabad faces acute vaccine shortage: People turned back from hospitals amid surge in COVID-19 cases
  • Maharashtra vaccine shortage: Health Minister seeks ‘criteria-based policy’ for vaccine quota to states
  • More Restrictions In Delhi Imminent, Kejriwal Warns, As Delhi Records 8,521 New COVID-19 Cases In 24 Hours
  • Breastfeeding Can Prevent Build-up Of Visceral, Pericardial Fat: Lower Risk Of Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Proper Nutrition, Exercise Will Help Your Child Grow Into Mentally Fit Adults

About The health Site

TheHealthSite.com is India's largest health site with more than 40 lakh unique visitors per month. We focus on fitness, beauty, health, pregnancy and more.

Most popular health and wellness website in India in 2012 at the Website of the year awards.

health@corp.india.com
+91 – 22 – 6697 1234
Landline Phone number 91 – 22 – 2490 0302.

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LTD, 18th floor, A-Wing, Marathon Futurex, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013.

Useful Links

  • Weight Loss
  • Keto Diet Tips
  • Skin Care Tips
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Ashwagandha
  • Cancer
  • Pneumonia
  • Diarrhoea
  • Dengue
  • Typhoid
  • Tuberculosis
  • Chickenpox
  • Chikungunya
  • Depression
  • Hepatitis
  • Diabetes
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Arthritis
  • Swine Flu
  • Baby Names
  • Cough and cold
  • Heart Attack
  • Breast Cancer
  • Ebola Virus
  • Dengue
  • Malaria
  • International Yoga Day
  • Hypotension
  • Heart Failure
  • Asthma
  • Brain Tumour
  • Celebrity Fitness
  • Goitre
  • HIV/AIDS

We respect your privacy

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Author Profiles

Copyright © 2021 Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved.