Study: No long-term benefit to breastfeeding

(CNN) — A new study finds breastfeeding has little impact on long-term cognitive development and behavior.

The study, published in the Journal Pediatrics, followed nearly 7,500 Irish children born full term, from the time they were nine months old.

They were then evaluated at three years and again at five years of age.

The researchers found that children breastfed for six months or more had lower rates of hyperactivity and improved problem-solving skills at three, but those differences were negligible by the time the child turned five.

Like many other studies, long-term benefits have been associated with breastfeeding. But once socio-economic factors such as education and income are accounted for, the differences between those children who were breastfed and those who weren’t are negligible.