Women who breastfed their babies have a significantly lower risk of developingendometriosis, according to results of a study published in the British Medical Journal.
The health benefits of breastfeeding are often touted to tout the benefits of breastfeeding. Indeed, the World Health Organization recommends “thefeeding with milk exclusively breast of the infant until the age of six months “and” to continue thereafter until the age of at least two years, by associating it with a suitable complementary feeding “. Because, “breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants. Indeed, it provides all the nutrients necessary for their development and contains antibodies that protect them from common diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia, the two leading causes of child mortality in the world “.
This new study claims that breastfeeding infants reduces the risk of endometriosis for moms.
Breastfeeding, a modifiable risk factor for endometriosis
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the United States analyzed medical data from the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII), which included thousands of women over a period of more than 20 years. During this period, 3,296 women suffered from endometriosis after their first pregnancy.
Then, the researchers looked at whether the new mothers had breastfed and for how long.
The results of the study showed that 3 months of breastfeeding reduced the risk of endometriosis by 8% and that this decrease was even more significant for mothers who breastfeed exclusively: the risk of endometriosis is thus reduced by 14% per 3-month “slice” offeeding with milk exclusive by pregnancy.
“We found that women who were breastfeeding for a longer duration were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis,” said study author Leslie Farland, ScM, ScD, researcher at the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery by BWH. “Given the chronic nature of endometriosis and that very few modifiable risk factors are currently known, breastfeeding may be an important modifiable behavior in reducing the risk of endometriosis in women after pregnancy.”
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