Breast really IS best! Kids breastfed for at least year are 38% more likely to get As in exams, study finds

By Victoria Allen Science Editor For The Daily Mail

Updated: 19:49 EDT, 5 June 2023

Breastfeeding for longer could help children do better in their exams.

Children breastfed for at least a year were 38 per cent more likely to get a high pass - the equivalent of an A or A* - in their English GCSE exam, compared to children who were not breastfed, a study found.

These children were 39 per cent more likely to get the same top grade in their Maths GCSE.

Breast milk contains important polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are believed to boost brain development.

The study, involving almost 5,000 children in England, found those breastfed for at least four months were around 12 per cent more likely than non-breastfed children to pass at least five GCSEs, including English and Maths, with the equivalent of a low B or a high C grade.

Children breastfed for at least a year were 38 per cent more likely to get a high pass - the equivalent of an A or A* - in their English GCSE exam, compared to children who were not breastfed, a study found

Some previous studies suggesting children breastfed for longer are more intelligent have faced criticism.

This is because they failed to take into account that children who are breastfed for longer tend to have more educated and well-off mothers, whose children may do better at school because of these advantages.

But the new research found a link between exam results and being breastfed even when accounting for parents' socioeconomic position, based on their jobs and level of education.

It also took into account mothers' intelligence, which was tested by giving women a vocabulary test of 20 words.

However the researchers note that the difference in exam results linked to whether teenagers were breastfed is 'modest', and they did not look at other factors including children's family wealth directly, which could make a further difference to their achievement at school.

Dr Reneé Pereyra-Elías, lead author of the study from the University of Oxford, said: 'Better exam results appear to be another of the well-known benefits of breastfeeding, and so breastfeeding should be encouraged, but only where it is possible for women.

'For those who are not able to breastfeed, they should not feel guilty and be worried about their child's academic achievement, as the differences we saw in exam results associated with breastfeeding were not large.'

The study, published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, looked at 4,940 children born between 2000 and 2002 who were part of the previous Millennium Cohort Study.

Almost a third of these children had never been breastfed, based on a survey of mothers which was part of the study.

The rest of the children were sorted into groups, based on how long they were breastfed, ranging from less than two months to more than a year.

The Oxford researchers analysed the GCSE results for these state school children, some of whom were graded from A* to F, but most of whom were given the new modern grading system from 1 to 9.

Children breastfed for at least a year were 25 per cent less likely to fail their English GCSE, with less than a 4, or the equivalent of a D or lower under the old system, compared to those not breastfed at all.

Researchers looked at children's total score out of 90, based on the new grading system, for the eight highest GCSEs achieved by each pupil, with English and Maths double-counted, because they are a core part of the curriculum.

Children breastfed for longer than four months scored two to three points higher for this total GCSE score, compared to those never breastfed.

In general, children breastfed for longer did better in exams, although the strongest results were seen in those breastfed for longer than a year.

AiRISTA Simplifies Deployment and Management of Its Infrastructure in Cisco Catalyst Environments

SPARKS, Md., June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AiRISTA, a leader in Real Time Location Services solutions (RTLS), introduces support for application hosting on Cisco Catalyst series access points. AiRISTA has created a Docker container managed through the Cisco IOx framework to provide complete access to specific access point software and hardware resources. Customers are able to deploy AiRISTA components like its Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) Angle of Arrival gateway using only a USB cable interfaced to the Catalyst access point.

Integration over the USB interface avoids the need to run separate power and network connectivity to AiRISTA devices. Devices like AiRISTA's AoA gateway are instantly recognized, and management is centralize through Cisco DNA Center. The simple addition of AoA gateways to Cisco wireless environments provides new RTLS capabilities like submeter location accuracy and tracking in the vertical dimension, ideal for applications like inventory management, tool control, and autonomous vehicle tracking.

"Companies are looking to make better use of their investment in network infrastructure," according to Vince Grove, AiRISTA's VP of Marketing. "Leveraging Cisco's IOx framework makes deployment of AiRISTA components fast and simple. Combined with support for Cisco Spaces, AiRISTA solutions are a natural extension of a Cisco network."

AiRISTA will showcase its BLE AoA gateway at Cisco Live! in Cisco's Partner Co-sell and Industry Solutions Village area June 5 through 8.

About AiRISTA

AiRISTA's Location Services Solutions are the heart of some of the world's largest RTLS deployments representing hundreds of thousands of end points per customer in demanding environments like the California Department of State Hospitals, the US Defense Health Service, and Fortune 500 companies. AiRISTA was recognized as a LEADER in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services for a second consecutive year (click for the complementary 2023 report). For details visit our web site or contact us for a demo (salesinfo@airista.com).

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