Breastfeeding to beat cancer
NS October 22nd, 2008
If you’ve been noticing an extreme amount of pink on t-shirts, jackets, bags, cars, banners and bumper stickers, it’s because it’s October, baby, and that means it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I know I’m a little late in the month doing this but better late than never!
I’m not going to talk to you about checking your breasts for lumps, getting mammograms, the need for more research and care facilities or fundraising efforts (though these are all things that merit discussion as well). I want to talk about a preventative measure that you may be able to take to help reduce your chances of being diagnosed with this horrible disease in the first place.
Studies have previously shown that women who have their first child before the age of 25 have lower rates of breast cancer than those who have them later or not at all. In this day and age when more and more of us who want to become mothers are delaying childbearing until our late 20s, 30s and even 40s, that is concerning. So what can you do to combat your increased risk if you choose to have children but not until you are older than 25? Breastfeed your baby!
New studies show that women who have breastfed their children, even those who gave birth after the age of 25, have no higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer than those who gave birth before 25. Essentially, breastfeeding cancels out the increased risk of those who choose to give birth later in life. And not only that, it is effective in fighting against the more aggressive non-hormonal-responsive cancers as well as the hormonal types, which was previously unknown before these recent studies.
So let’s hear it for breastfeeding — not only does it offer optimal nutrition and immunity protection for babies, it helps mothers stick around longer to see those babies grow up. It really is, as we call it in my house, Mama’s Magical Milk.
Think pink when you decide what to give your baby to drink.
