2023-09-08 08:04:00
This rather surprising cardio-metabolic benefit of breastfeeding for maternal health had already been suggested. The study tells us that it is particularly important for women who have had a complicated pregnancy and developed complications that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.
Breastfeeding, also a favorable factor for cardiovascular health
The study, longitudinal, followed 160 breastfeeding mothers who had several health checkups following the birth of their baby. The analysis reveals that women who breastfed for at least 6 months experienced a drop in blood pressure and better recovery of body weight (or BMI) during the 3 years following the birth of the baby;
Lead author Dr Claire Roberts, from the Pregnancy Health and Beyond research group at Flinders University, highlights the remarkable benefits of breastfeeding in women who have developed pregnancy complications: in these participants, a remarkable drop in blood pressure and improvement in cholesterol levels during the 3 years following childbirth: this suggests that breastfeeding improves the cardio-metabolic risk factors of new mothers, which is good news for women more likely to develop cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
“Complications of pregnancy are associated with risk of cardiovascular disease and the children of these women are also at increased risk of metabolic health problems.”
The authors recall that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends
exclusive breastfeeding for up to 6 months
and mixed breastfeeding for 12 months, also to prevent chronic hypertension and diabetes in women.
“When women who develop at least 1 major pregnancy complication – such as preeclampsia, gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes – and breastfeed for at least 6 months, their blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels are significantly reduced. reduced”.
Other larger studies are underway to validate and clarify these cardiovascular benefits of breastfeeding, on the mother and the child.
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