Episode 2: Breastfeeding - what the science actually says

Every so often a new study appears that claims that breastfed children are smarter, healthier, or otherwise better off later in life than those who were fed baby formula.

In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look into one recent such study, and ask what the research in general tells us about the apparently-dramatic effects of breastfeeding. Should you feel terribly guilty if you can’t, or choose not to, breastfeed your baby? Or is this an example of weak evidence being blown out of proportion?

The Studies Show is sponsored by Works in Progress magazine, the best place to find insightful essays on science, technology, and human progress. We’re very grateful for their support.

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Show notes

* The new study claiming breastfed children get better GCSE results

* Stuart’s Twitter thread critiquing the study

* The WHO page stating that breastfed children “perform better on intelligence tests”

* Brazilian study of breastfeeding and intelligence (and other outcomes)

* Initial report of the Belorussian breastfeeding-promotion randomised controlled trial

* Age-16 follow-up of the RCT

* Sibling-control study of breastfeeding and intelligence

* Stuart’s Substack post on breastfeeding and intelligence

* Tom’s article on the breastfeeding controversy

Credits

The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.

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