Easier breastfeeding for moms - Research summary

BREASTFEEDING BENEFITS MOM: Many women know that breastfeeding is good for their babies' health, but now, studies show that mothers can benefit as well. Research published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology analyzed data on 139,681 women who enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative, a long-term national study of postmenopausal women. It found women who had breastfed for more than a year in their entire lifetimes were almost 10-percent less likely than those who had never breastfed to have a heart attack or stroke in their postmenopausal years. They were also less likely to have diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

The study also found that women who had breastfed for just one month had lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, although the risk of heart disease was comparable to that among mothers who had never breastfed.

Many doctors say women who breastfeed are generally healthier people to begin with, so that may have had some effect on the outcome of the study. However, if there is a physiological connection between better health and breastfeeding, doctors say it could be linked to oxytocin, a hormone crucial to milk production. Oxytocin is known to relax blood vessels and make them more resistant to the buildup of plaque. Other recent studies suggest breastfeeding may also reduce the risk of osteoporosis and breast and ovarian cancer, as well as type 2 diabetes.

BREASTFEEDING BENEFITS CHILD: A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that breastfed infants tested 5.2 IQ points higher than formula fed infants. The comprehensive study involved 11 different studies and over 7,000 children. The link between breastfeeding and brain development remains controversial, however. Some researchers believe the link is based on the fact that well-educated, wealthier women breastfeed more than poor and less educated women. However, others believe there are chemicals in breast milk that encourage brain development, and those chemicals are not found in formula. Research is ongoing into the effects of several Omega-three fatty acids that are in breast milk and not in formula.

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