11/05/2025
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🧠 New Research: Breastfeeding and Long-Term Brain Growth
Ottino-González et al. (2025) found that longer breastfeeding duration was associated with greater cortical thickness and improved cognitive function.
Researchers looked at over 5,000 children between the ages of 9–12 years. They analyzed brain scans, thinking skills, and breastfeeding history.
What they found was powerful: the longer a child had been breastfed, the stronger and healthier their brain structure appeared…. even years later.
💡 Here’s what they found:
Children who were breastfed longer had:
✨ Thicker brain cortex — this is the outer layer of the brain responsible for memory, attention, perception, and awareness.
✨ Larger brain surface area — which is connected to intelligence, emotional regulation, and learning.
✨ More myelin in key areas — myelin is like “insulation” that helps brain cells send messages quickly and efficiently.
Even more fascinating? Those brain differences were directly linked to better cognitive function, meaning stronger memory, focus, and problem-solving skills.
And this was still true almost a decade after they’d been weaned.
We often talk about breastfeeding benefits in terms of early life… immune support, fewer infections, lower risks of allergies, and reduced hospitalizations. But this study reminds us that human milk is brain food in every sense of the word. It’s not just about calories. It’s living tissue, filled with fatty acids like DHA, hormones, stem cells, antibodies, and over a thousand bioactive molecules that support brain development.
Think of it as communication milk: every feed delivers microscopic messages that tell your baby’s brain how to grow, connect, and adapt.
Of course, this doesn’t mean breastfeeding is the only factor, genes, environment, and education all play roles. But it shows that the effects of breast milk don’t just fade after the newborn stage… they keep echoing into childhood and beyond.
Every drop, every feed, every ounce matters.
Whether you breastfed for a week, a month, or several years, you gave your baby something their brain will remember. This isn’t about perfection. It’s about protection. Breastfeeding is one of the most profound ways the body nourishes both body and mind, a biological design that’s stood the test of time.
You don’t have to compare your journey to anyone else’s. Just know this: when you nurse your child, comfort them at your breast, or pump milk for them you are helping build their brain in ways that science is still discovering.
