If you’re thinking about breastfeeding, here is another reason you should: the longer women breastfeed, the more they lower their risk for metabolic syndrome. Women who suffered gestational diabetes may benefit even more. About a quarter of women between 20 and 59 have metabolic syndrome, and those who suffered gestational diabetes are more than twice as likely to have it. A recent study shows that breastfeeding may actually reverse the metabolic changes associated with gestational diabetes. In turn, mothers who breastfeed may lower their risk for heart disease and diabetes as well.
According to Mayo Clinic, “metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.” As you may already know, heart disease is the number one cause of death for women in America. Stoke is the number three cause and diabetes is the number seven cause. Anything that can decrease the risk of these diseases is significant and should be seriously considered.
The duration of breastfeeding matters, but according to US statistics, not very many women will reap these rewards. In the US, about seventy percent of women breastfeed in the hospital. Thirty-six percent are still breastfeeding at six months, seventeen percent at one year and just five percent at one year. The World Health Organization actually recommends breastfeeding until at least age two or beyond, but it is not very common to see US women breastfeed beyond one year. In other parts of the world, however, breastfeeding beyond age one is commonplace.
Do you think women take health benefits into consideration when deciding whether to breastfeed? Or do most women decide to breastfeed for personal or work-related reasons? Why did you choose to breastfeed – or – why did you choose not to?