US (BBN)-Making the decision to breastfeed is a personal matter. It is also one that is likely to draw strong opinions from friends and family.
Many medical authorities, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, strongly recommend breastfeeding.
Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants. It has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat which everything the baby needs to grow, reports Daily Times Gazette.
In addition, breast milk contains antibodies that help the babies fight off viruses and bacteria.
Astoundingly, breastfeeding also has its benefit for the mother, as it burns extra calories to lose pregnancy weight faster.
It releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps the uterus to return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth.
Breastfeeding also lowers risk of osteoporosis, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer.
Women with breast cancer who breastfed their babies are significantly less at risk of the disease recurring or killing them, a study has found in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers analyzed the data of 1,636 women with breast cancer who completed a questionnaire about breastfeeding.
The researchers found that breastfeeding had a strong protective effect, especially in relation to particular types of tumor including the most common hormone-sensitive strain.
Remarkably, the protection was strongest for women who had a history of breastfeeding for six months or longer.
Lead researcher Marilyn Kwan, from US health care provider Kaiser Permanente, said: “This is the first study we’re aware of that examined the role of breastfeeding history in cancer recurrence, and by tumor subtype. Women who breastfeed are more likely to get the Luminal A subtype of breast cancer, which is less aggressive, and breastfeeding may set up a molecular environment that makes the tumor more responsive to anti-estrogen therapy.”
“Breastfeeding may increase the maturation of ductal cells in the breast, making them less susceptible to carcinogens or facilitate the excretion of carcinogens, and lead to slower growing tumors.” said Co-author Bette Caan.
These tumors are less likely to spread to other parts of the body than other types and are treatable with hormonal drugs such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.
Overall, a history of breastfeeding reduced the chances of cancer returning after treatment by 30 percent, while the risk of dying was lowered by 28 percent.
The reduction in cancer risk comes in proportion to the cumulative lifetime duration of breastfeeding.
That is, the more months or years a mother breastfeeds, the lower her risk of breast cancer.