A 2021 study from UCLA on the positive long-term effects of breastfeeding on a lactating parent’s cognitive health has yielded fascinating results. The study found marked differences in learning, recall, processing speed, and executive functioning when comparing women over 50 who had not breastfed and a group that had. Establishing controls for age, race, education, and reproductive history, the researchers also analyzed the effects of depression, as this possible cofounder has been associated with both lower breastfeeding rates and worsened geriatric cognitive performance.
Molly Fox, PhD, lead author of the study and Assistant Professor at the UCLA Department of Anthropology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, said: “[W]hile many studies have found that breastfeeding improves a child’s long-term health and well-being, our study is one of very few that has looked at the long-term health effects for women who had breastfed their babies. Our findings, which show superior cognitive performance among women over 50 who had breastfed, suggest that breastfeeding may be ‘neuroprotective’ later in life.” (UCLA Health, “New study suggests that breastfeeding may help prevent cognitive decline“).
The researchers hypothesize that the cognitive differences stem from the “persistent organizing effects [lactation has] on maternal physiology” (Fox et al, 2021). The study has created opportunities for further research to clarify the biomechanisms at play, especially considering the uncertain roles of lactation-related hormones such as prolactin and oxytocin and fewer menstrual cycles.
Findings from this study, illustrate the importance of supporting breastfeeding parents, and the magic that human milk feeding can have on both parents and their babies.
