Breastfeeding can reduce mother's risk of diabetes by 47%

Anicka Slachta | | Cardiovascular Business | Heart Health

Breastfeeding for at least a year could reduce a new mom’s risk of diabetes by 47 percent, the New York Times has reported.

According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, women in their mid-20s were also 25 percent less likely to develop diabetes if they breastfed for up to six months and 48 percent less likely if they breastfed for between six months and a year.

“We’ve known for a long time that breastfeeding has major benefits for child health,” lead author Erica P. Gunderson told the Times. “The specific benefits for women’s health have been less recognized.”

Gunderson and colleagues said in the study that risk reduction could be a result of lactation, since lactating women have lower circulating glucose, or several other mechanisms.

Read the full Times report below:

Breast-Feeding Tied to Reduced Risk of Diabetes

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Anicka Slachta

After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.

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