Breastfeeding may help reduce mothers' risk of strokes and heart attacks
By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:40 AM on 21st April 2009
Breastfeeding could protect mothers against heart attacks and strokes, according to scientists.
A study found that women who breastfed for more than a
year were 10 per cent less likely to suffer from the
conditions than those who had never breastfed.
Just one month of breastfeeding was found to lower rates
of diabetes, blood pressure and choleterol, all of which
contribute to heart disease.
Women who breastfed for more
than a year were 10 per cent less likely to suffer from
heart attacks and strokes than those who had never
breastfed
Experts at the University of Pittsburgh asked 139,681
women who went through the menopause in their fifties about
their breastfeeding history.
Researcher Dr Eleanor Bimla Schwarz said: 'Our study provides another reason for workplace policies to encourage women to breastfeed their infants.'
The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in
Europe, with almost one in three new mothers never
attempting it.
The research, published in the journal Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, showed those who breastfed for more than a year
were 12 per cent less likely to have high blood pressure and
20 per cent less likely to have diabetes and high
cholesterol.
Rosie Dodds, from the National Childbirth Trust, said: 'The Government needs to make it easier and more acceptable for women to breastfeed when they are out and about.'