Breast Feeding Shows Benefits for
Mothers
Two new studies show more evidence of the importance
of breast-feeding for both infants and the mother.
According to a report from the Associated Press on January 30,
2001, women
who breast-fed their babies for two years or longer reduced their risk of
breast cancer by 50%. The
study by Yale University following rural women in China, found that the
benefits to the mother are long lasting and can reduce cancer risk before
and after menopause.
In the US less than 1/3 of women continue
breast-feeding for six months after the birth of their infant.
Only small portions of women in the US breast-feed their babies
until 2 years old. However,
in China, as in other developing areas, breast-feeding for longer periods
of time is normal.
One of the two possible reasons given by the
researchers was that breast-feeding reduces exposure to estrogen and the
regular female hormone cycles. The
other possible reason given by the researchers is that fat-soluble cancer
causing agents and other pollutants are not stored in the tissues of
women’s breasts as easily when they are breast-feeding.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends
breast-feeding for babies at least up to the first year of life.
UNICEF and the World Health Organization go even farther and
recommend that babies be breast-fed with the addition of other foods until
at least the age of two.
|