Breastfeeding is important for healthy growth and development but it does not help a child's intelligence, researchers say.

Breastfed children score higher on IQ tests, but the effect is likely because mothers who breastfeed tend to be more intelligent, better educated, wealthier and provide a more stimulating environment at home, the British team concluded.

Pediatricians recommend breastfeeding an infant for the first six months.
(CBC)

The team from Britain's Medical Research Council and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland analyzed data on more than 5,400 children and 3,000 mothers in the United States.

"Omitting maternal intelligence can seriously overestimate the effect of breastfeeding," the researchers wrote in Wednesday's online issue of the British Medical Journal.

"Breastfeeding has little or no effect on intelligence in children. While breastfeeding has many advantages for the child and mother, enhancement of the child’s intelligence is unlikely to be among them," they concluded.

Comparing data on siblings who were breastfed to those who were bottle-fed confirmed there was no difference in intelligence from breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding does have other advantages, including reduced infection, respiratory illness and diarrhea. Some studies suggest breastfeeding may help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels in adulthood.

The Canadian Pediatric Society recommends breastfeeding newborns exclusively for the first six months and to continue breastfeeding for two years or more.

The World Health Organization also recommends that babies should be breastfed for at least the first two years.