(August 30, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to research published in the  American Journal of Medicine.

Some benefits of breastfeeding an infant are:

•    Reduction in infectious diseases in early and later childhood

•    Promotion of optimal brain development

•    Protection against life-threatening illnesses in premature infants

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh explored the relationship between breastfeeding and type 2 diabetes among over 2,200 women aged 40 to 78 who were all members of a large integrated health care delivery organization in California. Among these women were over 1,800 mothers, and 56% had breastfed an infant for one month or more.

After controlling for several factors that affect the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, including age, race, weight-for-height, physical activity level, and family history, women who had never given birth to a child and mothers who had breastfed all of their children for at least one month had about an equal risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In contrast, mothers who had never breastfed any of their children were nearly twice as likely to develop the condition as women who had never had a child. In addition, mothers who never exclusively breastfed any of their children were more than 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than mothers who exclusively breastfed for 1 to 3 months.

Today’s research demonstrates that breastfeeding is not only important for infant health but also for the mother’s health.