Where you breastfed or bottle fed as a baby?

Question

If you were breastfed do you think you are so smart?
(People claim on here that breastfeeding makes a kid so smart and that formula is robbing a kid of that which i do not believe for one second)

If you were breastfed please tell me what you do for a living since "some people" claim a kids IQ is so high when they are breastfed.

Why i ask: I am sick of people telling other mothers on here that their kids are not going to be smart if they do not breastfeed them, i am sick of people bashing others for bottlefeeding.

Your either smart or your not, doesn't matter what type of milk you drank.

Answer 1

I was bottle fed,or at least I think I was.I never thought to ask my mother as it never seemed that important to me.I do believe there are benefits to breast milk.However ,if we believed all the hype about breast milk it is also a cure for every short coming in a child's life.Breast milk will not make a child with true learning disabilities more intelligent.If a child is breastfed but is not intellectually stimulated they with not have any advantage over anyone.If people check out the "increase" in I.Q. scores for breast fed or bottle fed the differences are pretty small.Let me just say that being breastfed does not guarantee you will be raising a genius.LOVE and SUPPORT your child for who they are not for what you want them to be.Do we love our children less if they are less than perfect?Child rearing and development goes far beyond the time that breast feeding stops but learning is a lifelong process.All children can learn but only to the best of THEIR ability..Breast milk will not raise the scores of a child with a brain injury.I also get tired of this debate of which is better. .When a mother or father holds and feeds their baby they are bonding with that child end of story.Take care.

Answer 2

I was breastfed, but only for 6 months. Oh well. I'm currently working toward a PhD in Psychology. My dream is to work with families of children with special needs, particularly autism. If I don't get a fellowship next year, I'm blaming it on my mom for not breastfeeding me longer! Haha.
In all honesty, I while I do support breastfeeding, I don't think the breast milk itself makes a child smarter. There have been studies showing that breastfed children's average IQ is higher than that of formula - fed babies. The theory is that mothers who breastfeed tend to be more informed, educated women. They also tend to take more time to give their children the best advantages all around, from nutrition to education. Also, children who are breastfed tend to have stronger immune systems, which leads to higher intelligence. It's pretty hard to pay attention in school when you have a cold, isn't it? So while there is no arguing against the fact that breast milk is the best option (read the back of any formula container and you'll hear the same), there are MANY factors contributing to intelligence.

Answer 3

I was bottlefed but my mum wanted to breastfeed. She had problems getting breastfeeding established however and in those days (early 1970s) there wasn't a great deal of support and help for breastfeeding mums as pretty much everyone used formula. The midwives spent a couple of hours trying to help her then just gave up and chucked a can of SMA formula at her. And that was that.

I have a History degree so my IQ is obviously not that low although I didn't do well in school and only really managed to achieve academically when I went back into adult education at the age of 24. I don't actually do anything for a living right now as I'm at home with my 1 year old son (who is breastfed and has been exclusively since birth!!!) But I haven't achieved anywhere near as much in my life as I would have wanted to.

I do think that breastfeeding is inifinitely better for a baby than bottlefeeding and I would never give my son inferior formula milk as long as I am capable of producing milk for him. He's a healthy bright, beautiful little boy and a perfect example of how breastfeeding makes for a bonny baby! I'm so proud I've been able to breastfeed for a whole year and I hope that his IQ and achievements when he's older will reflect this.

Breast is best!!!

EDIT: and to the person above who mentions allergies and issues with food after being bottlefed as a baby, yes I have the same!!! I have had a constant battle with food (anorexia) since childhood.

Answer 4

I was breastfed for only 13 months, all my other siblings were over 2 years--I feel ripped off :) I'm a technical writer and hold a masters degree.

The plural of anecdote probably won't sway you either way.

By the way, it's not opinion, it's fact that breastfed children score higher on IQ tests. You don't have to believe it, the scientific evidence is clear.


ETA:
"Your either smart or your not, doesn't matter what type of milk you drank."
Proving my point exactly.

All children are born with an inherent intelligence potential. Breastfeeding helps children reach the full potential. Does that mean that formula fed children are stupid? Of course not! Does that mean that all breastfed children are geniuses? Of course not! All it means, statistically speaking, is that breastfed children (even when you control for economic, education, and other environmental situations) have higher IQs than their formula fed counterparts

We don't have to like it, but it's still fact.

Answer 5

I sense a lot of anger in your question...

I'm a supporter of breastfeeding, as everyone should be. It is however your choice so if you are feeling angry at someone criticizing this choice of yours to give formula you should try to let it go. As a breastfeeding mother I was constantly bombarded with comments to the effect that I should start giving my child 'real food', that it was weird, asking 'when would I ever stop' (she was only 8 or 9mths at the time), etc etc. It was really hard to take that, and caused me a lot of heartache. You have to ignore this!! You make your decisions, you live with it, and you forget everyone else! Especially strangers on a computer.

The more recent studies aren't conclusive if breastfeeding itself actually increases IQ levels. While older studies showed a direct correlation, they think now it might be a result of other environmental factors as well as genetics. The majority of women who breastfeed are more educated with higher IQ levels themselves, thus their children tend to be more educated w/ higher IQ levels... Toddlers are little sponges, so of course they'll pick up lots more if they are being stimulated at home with parents interested in teaching them things. My daughter just turned 2yrs old a few weeks ago and has a huge vocabulary in french and english, a few words in spanish, can count to 10, knows most her colors, is becoming potty trained, and is in general a very smart little girl. Was this because I breastfed her for her first year? I think she would have been pretty smart anyways given the family she comes from. Plenty of PhD's and 'clever' people around her. Breastfeeding could only have helped though. There are things in breastmilk formula companies can't duplicate. You can't really discount the 'magic' of breastmilk when compared to formula, as there really isn't any comparison between the two. Breastmilk has everything a baby needs, where formula doesn't. This is just a fact. I know you're uncomfortable with that because you've given formula and you don't want to feel you've 'hurt' your child. Your baby is fine, so don't feel attacked.

I'm an accountant myself, not glamourous but well-paid. I love numbers, and have always scored highly on IQ tests, in the gifted courses at school, top of my class, etc. I was a preemie, and was fed sugar water and given flour in my bottle to 'fatten me up' and who knows what else. It wasn't 'In' to breastfeed 30yrs ago, you were told by your Dr to give formula in those days. Did I succeed against the odds, or was it my genetic make-up and my home schooling that made me a good student. Who knows? How can you perform a test to prove something like that, as really it would just be that I would have a higher IQ level if I had been breastfed and not the difference between being 'smart' or 'dumb'. Perhaps I would have gotten a 4.0 in college instead of 3.95?

Answer 6

breastfed, work in the medical field as a doula, midwife, and women's health worker.

Breastfeeding doesn't make a kid "so smart", but breastfed babies do have a higher IQ on average in the studies you refer to. This could be due to many other factors, like socio-economic circumstances, parent's level of achievement and education...but the fact that breastfed infants are consistently scoring higher is very significant all the same. Breastmilk is better brain food than formula, simply put.

"...you're either smart or you're not." That's actually not true, especially when it comes to standardised testing. A person can do many many things to maximise their intellect, and as these studies are showing, breastfeeding as an infant is one significant way to do so.

Answer 7

I was formula fed and was formally given an IQ test when I was in graduate school. I have an IQ of 144 (avg being 100) which is classified in the Very Superior range (from 130 & above). I currently work as a School Psychologist.

Answer 8

I agree with you that bottlefeeding/breastfeeding has no scientifically significant inpact on intelligence. (Edit: That is to say that there is no unequivical correlation between breastfeeding alone and the intelligence of a child....not that breastfeeding doesn't have benefits-I am a breastfeeding mother for a reason-I just don't think that science has proven concretely that breastfeeding alone creates children with better IQs.)

I was bottle (formula) fed as a baby and when I was last tested just under a month ago, my IQ was 139...less than 1% [.9%] of people have an IQ equal to or higher than mine.

I don't mean that to be snobby, just to answer your question.

I am a homeschooling SAHM....but I don't think that your job directly relates to your intelligence any more than breastfeeding does.

Answer 9

Formula fed and scored always above average on every test I took I am now working for The Marriott hotels and resorts as a Front Desk manager.My first born was formula fed and spoke first words at 3 months old.My second child was breast fed and formula fed and slept through the night since birth something my oldest did not do untill 3 yrs of age but youngest didnt speak a word untill about 7 months old so it depends who you ask.

Answer 10

My father was breastfed as a baby, and my mother was bottle fed. My mother is like ten times smarter than my dad, so I must say from first hand experience that this is just an old wives' tale and that mothers should make their own decisions without being pressured by others.