Heart Disease
Maternal health research
The studies below explore the impact that breastfeeding can have on maternal cardiovascular health.
Breastfeeding and cardiovascular disease hospitalization and mortality in parous women: evidence from a large Australian cohort study
This study examined the longitudinal association between breastfeeding and maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalization and mortality in a large Australian cohort (100,864 parous women aged ≥45). Analysis was restricted to women without self‐reported medically diagnosed CVD at baseline or without past CVD hospitalization 6 years before study entry. Researchers found that ever breastfeeding was associated with lower risk of CVD hospitalization and mortality compared with never breastfeeding, and breastfeeding ≤12 months/child was significantly associated with lower risk of CVD hospitalization.
Breastfeeding and reduced maternal risk of diabetes and heart disease
A study of 139,681 women found that women who reported a lifetime history of more than 12 months of lactation were 10-15% less likely to have hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease than those who had not breastfed.