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Apr 21, 2009 8:33 pm US/Eastern
Pitt Study: Breastfeeding Benefits The Heart
Researchers have found a benefit to breastfeeding that could lower a woman's chances of heart attack, stroke and other ailments
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh adds to a growing body of evidence about the health benefits of breastfeeding.
Tara McElfresh of Wilkinsburg is breastfeeding her 11-month-old son Eamonn, just as she did her daughters, 3-year-old Liedan and 5-year-old Neila before him.
"And I found the
La Leche League to help support me through that decision and it's been great," she said.
For Tara the decision to breastfeed was easy.
"I think because it's so natural - I mean that's why you have them," she said.
Tara was aware of the benefits of breastfeeding.
Breast milk is easy to digest and contains antibodies that protect the baby from viral and bacterial infections.
Women who breastfeed also have reduced rates of breast and ovarian cancer.
But now there is yet another benefit discovered by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, according to Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz.
"So what we found was that the longer a woman breastfed the better her heart did over a number of years," she explains. "She was less likely to have had a heart attack or a stroke."
Using data compiled by the Women's Health Initiative, Dr. Schwarz and her team learned that even if a woman breast feeds for one month the protection is there.
"She was less likely to develop diabetes or high blood pressure, things we know cause heart disease," Dr. Schwarz said.
The study looked at nearly 140,000 menopausal women. Their average age was 63.
But researchers also found that the heart benefits faded as some women aged because of other variables.
"Diet she was following, or how physically active she had been, that was also building up over the years and that could potentially overtake the effect of having breastfed when she was younger," Schwarz said.
But when you see a mother breast feeding her child, it doesn't seem so surprising that it protects a mommy's heart.
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