Breastfeeding Can Save Your Life

There have been a number of studies showing the benefits breastfeeding provides to infants. Infants who are breastfeed have a lower risk of developing diabetes, childhood cancer, Chron's disease, Hodgkin's disease as well as Juvenile arthritis. While breastfeeding has several potentially life saving effects on the infant, does breastfeeding hold the same benefit for the mother's health as well? Studies indicate several major health advantages for women who breastfeed over women who never lactate.

An old wives-tale said that as long as a woman was nursing she could not become pregnant. Modern science has found this to be at least partially true. Breastfeeding can delay fertility in most women resulting in better spacing of children. The women who experienced the best results were those who breastfeed longer and night nursed their child. Breastfeeding does not prevent pregnancy, it only delays fertility and the length of delay will vary between women.

A variety of studies have shown breastfeeding can have significant benefits to the overall health of women. This can range from a lower risk of post natal depression and lower anxiety to reducing a woman's risk for contracting several types of cancer, including breast cancer.

The potential for reducing a woman's risk of breast cancer are amazing, according to a study by P. Newcomb. In the study "Lactation and reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer," Newcomb stating that if all women who had children breastfeed for 24 months or longer their risk of breast cancer could drop by as much as 25 percent.

Closely associated with this study was the effect of breast milk on a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. It was found women who were breastfeed as infants, if even for a short time, had a reduced risk of developing premenopausal or postmenopausal breast cancer. Women who were breastfeed were 25 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, according to J. Freudenheim's paper "Exposure to breast milk in infancy and the risk of breast cancer".

Other various studies have should women who breastfeed their children have a lower risk of developing Uterine cancer, Ovarian cancer, as well as Endometrial cancer. In each study breastfeeding was found to lower the woman's risk of developing these cancers. These studies were published by The New England Journal of Medicine and The Medical Journal of Australia.

According to a study performed by H.A. Davis women who breastfeed their infants and who are diabetic, required lower insulin dosages to control their diabetes. In a separate study it was found women who did not breastfeed their children were four times more likely to develop Osteoporosis.

The data indicates breastfeeding is not only beneficial to the infant, but to the mother as well. In most cases the studies looked at women who were lactating for 24 months or longer. However, in some cases the length of time breastfeeding was significantly less.

If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, you should discuss your breastfeeding options with your doctor. They will be able to give you more detailed information as it relates to your specific situation.