This research project will examine the effects in toddlerhood of breastfeeding, examining any significant correlations between intelligence and breastfeeding and looking in particular at whether or not there is a threshold period of time that mothers must breastfeed for there to be a demonstrable effect in terms of intelligence.
This research seeks to establish a correlation between longer periods of breastfeeding (i.e. longer than six months) with higher intelligence (as measured by standard IQ tests) in toddlers. Such correlations have been demonstrated before, but previous research has failed to examine the importance of the specific length of duration and whether or not there is a minimum period of breastfeeding that is required as a threshold level for increasing intelligence. A typical finding of previous research in this field is summarized below:
Increasing duration of breastfeeding was associated with consistent and statistically significant increases in 1) intelligence quotient assessed at ages 8 and 9 years; 2) reading comprehension, mathematical ability, and scholastic ability assessed during the period from 10 to 13 years; 3) teacher ratings of reading and mathematics assessed at 8 and 12 years; and 4) higher levels of attainment in school leaving examinations. Children who were breastfed for >= 8 months had mean test scores that were between 0.35 and 0.59 SD units higher than children who were bottle-fed (http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_iq.html#FIRST).
The hypothesis is: Toddlers who were nursed for at least six months will score at least 15 percent higher on average on preverbal IQ tests than those that were nursed for less than six months. The independent variable is the length of nursing, the dependent variable is IQ. The developmental design that will be used is a cross-sectional design that should take four to six weeks
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