- Breast milk provides nutrients and antibodies, and reduces prolonged exposure to estrogen and progesterone.
- Social Security promotes breastfeeding during the first 6 months of a newborn’s life and up to 2 years of age.
According to Alicia Hernández Vargas, a pediatrician specializing in Neurological Rehabilitation and affiliated with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in the State of Mexico East, breast milk has great benefits for newborns, as it provides nutrients and antibodies so that they do not get sick frequently; in women, it reduces the risk of breast cancer in the future.
The specialist explained that there is evidence showing that breastfeeding reduces the possibility of suffering from cancer by around 4.3% for every 12 months of breastfeeding.
This stage is a fundamental process for the well-being of the newborn and for the woman, because, in addition to providing the baby with antibodies, it prevents it from getting sick frequently. It helps it grow and develop better. And in women, it is the main effect for reducing the risk of contracting breast cancer.
Breastfeeding, like pregnancy, reduces prolonged exposure to estrogen and progesterone, hormones that promote the growth of some tumors.
The specialist explained that in all medical and hospital units of Social Security, when women attend prenatal and postnatal consultations, as well as during hospitalization for childbirth, the nursing and medical staff have protocols to promote exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of the newborn’s life and up to 2 years in a mixed manner.
During pregnancy, health personnel teach and motivate mothers to breastfeed their newborns. As part of routine check-ups, mothers must attend at least five prenatal visits to their Family Medicine Unit (UMF) and two more sessions after delivery to receive recommendations on breastfeeding.
The doctor indicated that not breastfeeding is a risk factor associated with breast cancer, although there are other reasons that can cause it, such as hereditary and genetic factors.
Another reason that can trigger the disease is age. However, she also reminded that there are various ways to detect breast cancer, depending on the age of the woman, such as monthly breast self-examination, from the age of 25, and mammography, from 40 to 69 years of age.
