Breastfeeding Protects Mother - 25/04/2009

Women who breastfeed their babies for more than a year in lifetime, actually end up lowering their own risk of a heart attack or stroke. Scientists have now found that women who breastfeed for more than a year are 10% less likely to develop heart conditions than those who did not. Breastfeeding was also found to reduce the risk of high blood pressure by 12% and diabetes and high cholesterol by around 20%.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, so it's vitally important for us to know what we can do to protect ourselves. We have known for years that breastfeeding is important for the baby's health. We now know that it is important for the mother's health as well," said Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and obstetrics, at the University of Pittsburgh. The study suggests that breastfeeding stimulates the release of hormones to play this role.

These findings were announced in the journal ‘Obstetrics and Gynaecology’ on Tuesday, 22nd April 2009:

http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/doc/lactation-and-heart-attack.pdf