The breastmilk It is an ideal, complete and healthy food for newborns and children under 2 years of age or older; for containing more than 300 nutrients and exact amounts of fats, sugars, water, proteins and vitamins that the child needs to grow and develop. In addition, his health benefits and the immune system are also known by the bulk of the population, such as for maternal health: with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, ovarian cancer and breast cancer. In this sense, a new meta-analysis about pregnancy published in ‘Journal of the American Heart Association’, indicates a new discovery that supposes one of the greatest benefits of breastfeeding: its protective effect against the risk of developing heart disease or stroke.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is related to a lower number of respiratory infections and a lower risk of death from infectious diseases among children who were breastfed.
Others previous studies reviewed the association between breastfeeding and the risk of cardiovascular disease in the mother; however, the findings were inconsistent regarding the strength of the association and, specifically, the relationship between different durations of breastfeeding and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
RESULTS
The researchers reviewed health information from eight studies conducted between 1986 and 2009 in Australia, China, Norway, Japan and the United States and one multinational study. The review included the health records of nearly 1.2 million women (with a mean age of 25 years at the time of the first birth) and analyzed the relationship between breastfeeding and the individual cardiovascular risk of the mother.
The review found that the 82 % of women reported having breastfed at some time in their life. Compared with women who never breastfed, women who reported having breastfed during their lifetime had 11% lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
During a period of average follow-up of 10 years, women who breastfed at some point in their lives were 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease; 12% less likely to have strokes; and 17% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
Women who breastfed for 12 months or more during their lifetime appeared to be less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women who did not breastfeed. “It is important for women to be aware of the Benefits of breastfeeding for the health of their babies and also for their own personal health,” emphasizes Willeit, one of the study’s authors.
OTHER BENEFITS OF BREASTFEEDING
for the mother
- Promotes uterine contraction.
- Reduces bleeding.
- There is a lower cardiovascular risk and diabetes due to lower exposure to estrogens.
- Reduces iron deficiency anemia.
- Protects against breast and ovarian cancer.
- It speeds up the recovery of the mother’s body weight.
for the baby
- Reduces infant mortality. Available data indicates that up to 14 times more than a baby who has not been breastfed in the first 6 months.
- Protects against infectious diseases.
- Avoid constipation.
- It reduces the risk of childhood obesity, and also when the child reaches adulthood.
- It is a protective factor against sudden death.
- It favors the bond with the mother.
- Decreases crying.
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