New mothers are being urged to breastfeed their babies till the age of one (Picture: Getty)

New mothers are being urged to breastfeed their babies till the age of one to help boost their intelligence.

Some women turn to baby formula after a few months but scientists say they should carry on breastfeeding to give their child the best start in life.

Compared with bottle-fed children, seven-year-olds who had been breastfed for a year were likely to score four points higher in a test of verbal IQ – an increase of 0.35points for every extra month spent suckling, a US study showed.

‘These findings support recommendations to promote exclusive breastfeeding through age six months and continuation of breastfeeding through at least age one year,’ said lead researcher Dr Mandy Belfort, of Boston Children’s Hospital.




Commenting on the study, Dr Dimitri Christakis, from Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, said: ‘The problem is not so much that most women do not initiate breastfeeding, it is that they do not sustain it.

‘In the US, about 70 per cent of women initiate breastfeeding, although only 50 per cent of African-American women do. However, by six months, only 35 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, still do.’

Nutrients such as docosahexaenoic in breast milk may benefit the developing infant brain, the study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics suggested.