Why are breastfed babies smarter than others?

It has long been believed that breastfeeding increases the IQ of children, and recently a new study has strengthened this idea. New research has found that children who are breastfed for 6 months or longer have better cognitive ability by age 14 than children who are breastfed for a shorter period or breastfed. 

The milk was not fully fed. Between 2000 and 2002, 7,800 newborns were enrolled in the study for up to 14 years. 23% of these were babies who were breastfed for 6 months or more. 

All children were given specific verbal and cognitive tests at ages 11, 7, 5, and 14 years, which found that children who were breastfed for 6 months or more after birth performed better in practice. scored higher than those who were not breastfed.

René Pereira, the study's lead author and researcher at the University of Oxford in England, said that mothers with stronger social backgrounds and better cognitive ability breastfed their babies longer, suggesting a link between a mother's cognition and the effects of her milk on the baby.

He further said that mother's milk contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and micronutrients which help in brain development. It also has microRNAs, which are actually pieces of genetic code that help the brain to a better program, understands, and function properly.