Breastfeeding boosts cardio health in mums

Breastfeeding for six months or more appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems developing in mothers for at least three years after delivery, according to a new study from South Australia. This surprising cardio-metabolic benefit is particularly important for women who experienced a complicated pregnancy, which can increase their chance of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life.

The study was led by The University of Adelaide’s Dr Maleesa Pathirana and colleagues from the Robinson Research Institute, Lyell McEwin Hospital and Flinders University, and stemmed from a long-running study of 160 breastfeeding mothers who took part in follow-up health checks after delivery of their babies. The results, published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, found that women who breastfed for at least six months experienced lower blood pressure and body-weight recovery (or BMI) for up to three years after delivery.

“That means that breastfeeding improves women’s cardio-metabolic risk factors, which is good news for new mothers who might be at risk of developing future cardiovascular and metabolic diseases,” said senior author Professor Claire Roberts, who leads the Pregnancy Health and Beyond (PHaB Lab) research group at Flinders University.

“Pregnancy complications are associated with later cardiovascular disease risk and their children are also at risk of impaired metabolic health earlier in life.”

Pathirana added, “We found that if women with at least one major pregnancy complication — like preeclampsia, gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes — breastfed for at least six months, they had significantly lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol profile and lower insulin compared to those who did not breastfeed for at least six months.

“These findings indicate an overall improvement in cardiovascular health.”

The researchers recommended further investigations in a larger sample size of women who breastfeed compared to those who choose not to breastfeed. They also recommended more interventions that support breastfeeding in disadvantaged or low socioeconomic areas, particularly for women with pregnancy complications, to reduce their lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease.

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