Breastfeeding raises IQ scores and gives children the best chance at life

As we celebrate International Children’s Day on the 1^st of June, the South African Breastmilk Reserve (SABR) urges society, business and government to invest in the future wellbeing and prosperity of the next generation by supporting and encouraging breastfeeding mothers.

The Breastfeeding Series¹, an evidence-based report published in the Lancet (a peer reviewed medical journal) found that “breastfeeding [is] consistently associated with higher performance in intelligence tests in children and adolescents.” This increase in intelligence quotient (IQ) scores is linked directly to higher earnings throughout adulthood.

“Breastfeeding is an incredibly cost-effective investment in the future of our society. Its positive effects last throughout adult life,” says Stasha Jordan, breastfeeding activist and executive director of the SABR.

Breastfeeding also has long-term health benefits for children. The Lancet reports that breastfeeding reduces the incidence of type 2 diabetes by as much as 35% and the incidence of obesity by 13%.¹ This, in turn, reduces the burden on public health systems which frees up resources to be used for poverty alleviation. ¹

“Breastfeeding reduces infant morbidity and mortality, increases IQ score, improves school achievement, and boosts adult earnings — all essential for reducing poverty,” says Keith Hansen, Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank.

Despite the growing weight of this evidence, women face multiple challenges when it comes to breastfeeding. These include insufficient maternity leave in particular, as well as lack of support from government and employers to provide child care on-site in order to facilitate continued breastfeeding in the workplace.

The promotion and protection of breastfeeding is a collective societal responsibility and not only the sole responsibility of women. Women comprise a major proportion of the workforce and political institutions must take responsibility for removing the structural and societal barriers which limit a woman’s ability to breastfeed.¹

These challenges are particularly acute in South Africa. “Breastfeeding should continue until at least 12 months, but our society and government do not even support exclusive breastfeeding up to six months,” says Professor Delport, an expert on neonatal care. “Statutory maternity leave is only four months, and mothers are not supported to breastfeed at work. As such, we have a dismal exclusive breastfeeding rate of just 8% by the age of 6 months,” she adds.

Diarrhoea and respiratory infections – the main causes of sickness and death in children younger than five years old – can be reduced by half and one-third respectively by breastfeeding.¹ Scaling up breastfeeding to near universal levels would prevent 823 000 deaths annually in low-income and middle-income countries.¹ 

Despite the inestimable health, economic and environmental benefits of breastfeeding, the practice is not adequately promoted, protected or supported. As a result, our children, women and societies lose out on these benefits. And the irony is that breast milk is completely free.

The SABR is a case in point in the struggle to feed vulnerable infants with human milk when their mothers are unable to lactate successfully.

To get involved and alleviate the challenges faced by the SABR, including low breastfeeding rates in South Africa, sourcing donor mothers and funding for the operation of the milk banks, please visit www.sabr.org.za or call 011 482 1920 or e-mail: info@sabr.org.za.