Mums who breastfeed have lower risk of heart disease

BREASTFEEDING protects women against heart disease later in life by ‘resetting’ the body’s metabolism after pregnancy, experts have found.

A study of almost 300,000 women found mothers who breastfeed are significantly less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as they age – and the longer they breastfeed the lower their risk.

Experts have long advised women to breastfeed their baby for the sake of their child, but the research suggests it also has a profound impact on the woman’s own health.

the Oxford University researchers analysed data from 289,573 Chinese women.

Over a period of eight years, they recorded 16,671 cases of heart disease and 23,983 strokes.

Mothers who had breastfed for at least some time had a 9 per cent lower risk of heart disease and an 8 per cent lower risk of stroke compared with women who had only used formula. Each addi- tional six months of breast feeding per baby was associated with a 4 per cent lower risk of heart disease and a 3 per cent reduced stroke risk.

Among mothers who breastfed each of their babies for two years or more, heart disease risk was 18 per cent lower and stroke risk 17 per cent lower, according to the findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Lead scientist Dr Sanne Peters said: ‘Although we cannot establish the causal effects, the health benefits to the mother from breastfeeding may be explained by a faster “reset” of the mother’s metabolism after pregnancy.

‘Pregnancy changes a woman’s metabolism dramatically as she stores fat to provide the energy necessary for her baby’s growth and for breastfeeding once the baby is born.

‘Breast feeding could eliminate the stored fat faster and more completely.’ Scientists agree child obesity, diabetes and infections could all be significantly reduced if more mothers could be persuaded to breastfeed.

the NHS suggests that women should feed their babies only breast milk until they are at least six months old, and then continue breastfeeding while gradually introducing other food.

However only 34 per cent of British children are breastfed until six months. this compares with 49 per cent in the US, 50 per cent in Germany and 62 per cent in Switzerland.

And only one in every 200 children in the UK – just 0.5 per cent – are breastfed until 12 months, the lowest level in the world.

In comparison, 27 per cent of children in the US, 35 per cent in Norway, 44 per cent in New Zealand and 92 per cent in India are breastfed until they are one.

Feeding a baby with breast milk burns up 500 calories a day – the same as a typical gym session – a fact doctors use to tempt mothers to avoid formula milk.

But this study is among the first to show it has much longer-lasting health impacts.

On its website, Liverpool Women’s Hospital says: ‘Breastfeeding doesn’t just provide wonder food for babies – it helps a woman regain her shape more quickly.’

A previous study by Oxford University researchers calculated that for every six months a woman gives her baby breast milk, she can expect to lose around 2lb, depending on her initial weight and height.