There's no doubt about it: Breastfeeding offers up some amazing benefits—and
not just for your baby. The maternal advantages of breastfeeding are
well-documented, and now another benefit joins the list of ways in which
the act may approve your overall health down the road.
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According to a new study published in Neurology,
breastfeeding may bring down a woman's risk of developing multiple
sclerosis. The researchers based this finding on the observation 397
women who had been recently diagnosed with MS and 433 healthy women. The
researchers learned more about their pregnancies, contraceptive use and
breastfeeding histories via a series of questionnaires.
Here's
what they found: Women who breastfed for a cumulative 15 months or more
appeared to be 53 percent less likely to develop MS as compared to women
who did not breastfeed or only nursed for up to four months. According
to their findings, 85 of the healthy women breastfed for 15 months or
more, while 110 nursed for zero to four months. On the other hand, 44 of
the women with MS breastfed for over 15 months, while 118 breastfed for
less than four months.
Breastfeeding wasn't the only factor to skew MS risk: Women who got their periods after age 15 also appeared to be less likely to develop MS than those who menstruated before age 11.
[post_ads]But
here's where things get complicated: The women surveyed were asked to
self-report, and since they may have breastfed years ago, their
responses may not have been totally accurate. There's also the fact that
this study was based on association, so it doesn't necessarily prove
cause-and-effect. Also worth noting? Moms may need to breastfeed for 15 months to reap this benefit, and that's not a realistic situation for every mom—for example, it may be doable for women who have multiple kids, as the study looked at a total number of months spent breastfeeding, but moms of only children may find it more difficult to nurse for 15 months.
Still,
the researchers believe there may be a link at work here. "Many experts
have suggested that the levels of sex hormones are responsible for
these findings, but we hypothesized that the lack of ovulation
may play a role, so we wanted to see if having a longer time of
breastfeeding or fewer total years when a woman is ovulating could be
associated with the risk of MS," researcher Annette Langer-Gould, MD,
PhD, said, according to a release for the news. "This study provides more evidence that women who are able to breastfeed
their infants should be supported in doing so. Among the many other
benefits to the mother and the baby, breastfeeding may reduce the
mother's future risk of developing MS."
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