ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health

Breastfeeding provides benefits for mother’s heart health later in life

More proof that nursing is beneficial to mothers as well.

Elena MotivansbyElena Motivans
February 28, 2018 - Updated on May 31, 2020
in Diseases, Health, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

RelatedPosts

Derinkuyu: the ancient underground city, once home to 20,000 people
The 2016 Nobel Prize in medicine goes to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his work on autophagy
A look back at Hubble’s history in honor of its 30th anniversary
Millions of donkeys are slaughtered and skinned every year to fuel pseudoscientific Chinese medicine trade

When we think of breastfeeding, we usually think of the benefits for the baby first. Mother’s milk contains vitamins, fat, proteins, and antibodies that provide health benefits to babies later in life. However, babies aren’t the only ones who benefit. It turns out that breastfeeding is good for the mothers too– it helps them to recover from pregnancy and can lower the risk for certain cancers and osteoporosis. A new study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has now shown that women who breastfeed their babies for at least six months had better cardiovascular health.

In the study, 678 pregnant women in Michigan enrolled to participate between 1998 and 2004. A follow-up examination was conducted on the same women seven to fifteen years later. The women reported how long they had breastfed for and researchers measured several key factors that are used to assess heart disease risk. They measured blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and the thickness and diameter of the carotid artery.

Image credits: Public Domain Pictures.

After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, body mass, and socio-economic status, the researchers compared the heart health of women with normal blood pressure during pregnancy. The women who had breastfed for at least six months had much higher levels of “good” cholesterol, lower triglycerides, and healthier carotid artery thickness than the women who had never breastfed. One possible explanation for this result is that breastfeeding increases the expression of the hormone oxytocin, which can lower blood pressure.

“The study adds to the evidence that lactation is important not just for the baby but for the mother,” said Malamo Countouris, MD, a cardiology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh and the study’s lead author. “Breastfeeding seems to be cardioprotective in these women, as evidenced by improved cholesterol and markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease.”

Blood pressure makes a difference. The cardiovascular benefits were only observed for women with normal blood pressure. No cardiovascular benefit was found among women with high blood pressure. However, this result could because the number of participants with high blood may have been too low to show any benefits to these women. Another limitation of the study is that high blood pressure was self-reported by participants and perhaps not completely accurate.

It is promising to know that breastfeeding could have cardiovascular benefits for the mother and is another reason in favor of it. The factors contributing to cardiovascular health in women have been understudied—hopefully, more studies like this one will be conducted to unravel the series of different factors that contribute to heart health in women.

ShareTweetShare
Elena Motivans

Elena Motivans

I've always liked the way that words can sound together. Combined with my love for nature (and biology background), I'm interested in diving deep into different topics- in the natural world even the most mundane is fascinating!

Related Posts

News

Coolness Isn’t About Looks or Money. It’s About These Six Things, According to Science

byTibi Puiu
10 hours ago
Archaeology

Ancient Roman Pompeii had way more erotic art than you’d think

byMihai Andrei
10 hours ago
Animals

Wild Orcas Are Offering Fish to Humans and Scientists Say They May Be Trying to Bond with Us

byTibi Puiu
11 hours ago
Clumps of gold recovered from a mine placed on a wooden table.
Chemistry

No Mercury, No Cyanide: This is the Safest and Greenest Way to Recover Gold from E-waste

byRupendra Brahambhatt
12 hours ago

Recent news

Coolness Isn’t About Looks or Money. It’s About These Six Things, According to Science

July 1, 2025

Ancient Roman Pompeii had way more erotic art than you’d think

July 1, 2025

Wild Orcas Are Offering Fish to Humans and Scientists Say They May Be Trying to Bond with Us

July 1, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.