Breast-fed children have better vision

News Target is reporting [1] that the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published an intresting study that indicated that breast-fed infants have better vision as young children than those who were not breast-fed.

Because scientists have previously hypothesized that chemical known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) — found in higher concentrations in breast milk than in formula — enhances the vision of developing children, the researchers randomly added DHA to the formulas of some of the non-breast-fed children.

DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is added to many brands of infant formula, which are then marketed as being "closer" to breast milk. Some studies have suggested that children who consume formulas fortified with DHA have higher cognitive function than children who drink unfortified formula. However, these studies have not compared DHA-fortified formulas to breast milk itself.

The study found that the breast-fed children were significantly more likely to score higher on tests of stereo-acuity (depth perception) than the formula-fed ones. There was no significant difference in stereo-acuity between the formula-fed children who had received the DHA supplement and those who had not.

As interesting as the article is, the concluding paragraph summerizing past studies about breast-feeding is quite shocking:

Previous studies have linked consumption of infant formula to a higher risk of asthma, eczema and insulin-dependent diabetes, as well as higher rates of respiratory, intestinal, middle-ear and other bacterial infections. Breast-fed children have also been shown to have better cognitive development than their formula-fed peers.

Pretty amazing stuff that mommy's milk. Even more so when you consider it changes over time to adapt to the needs of the growing child.