This new report says that breastfeeding a year decreases your risk of heart disease, among other things... that's nice to read, as I sit here typing with a nursing baby resting his head on my arm. It's good to know this is benefiting both of us. 😀
Women who breast-feed for longer than one year seem to be 10 to 15 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease after menopause than women who don't breast-feed, according to a study in the May issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
I'm hoping this is cumulative, too, since I've been nursing (or pumping) for almost exactly five years, between our five babies. And I anticipate nursing J another year or so. I just may hit 6 years - that should lower my risk of heart disease and breast cancer.
* Well, happy to report that now I've been nursing over six years, thanks to the arrival of Miss O. Woo-hoo, let's hope those health benefit statistics apply to me...