Is Breastfeeding Really Preventing Breast Cancer?

Medical Video: Breast feeding reduces risk of breast cancer

After the baby is born, your task is certainly not finished. You are faced with two choices, breastfeeding or not breastfeeding. The World Health Institution or WHO recommends that mothers breastfeed their babies until the age of 6 months or commonly referred to as exclusive breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding produces many benefits for mother and baby. In breast milk there are antibodies that can strengthen the baby's immune system, so breast milk babies are not susceptible to infectious diseases. For the mother herself, breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer.

Breastfeeding can prevent the mother from developing breast cancer

As reported by WebMD, research shows that women who only have children after the age of 25 have a risk twice as big as breast cancer as women who have no children. And recent research shows breastfeeding can protect women from the risk of breast cancer, explains Giske Ursin, MD, PhD, a professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

Another study conducted by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in 2009 also showed that women with a family history of breast cancer who breastfed their babies could reduce breast cancer risk by 59%. The study did not find out why breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer, but researchers suspect that when women do not breastfeed, inflammation and swelling that occurs after birth causes changes in breast tissue that can increase the risk of breast cancer. So, breastfeeding can prevent this inflammation and reduce the risk of breast cancer.

An international collaborative study published by Annals of Oncology also shows that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer negative receptor hormones by 20%.

So, breastfeeding is a simple way that all women can do to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.

How can breastfeeding reduce the risk of breast cancer?

As explained above, many studies have linked breastfeeding to a reduced risk of breast cancer. Some studies also say that breastfeeding done at least one year can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Breastfeeding for at least one year is associated with a reduced risk of developing positive receptor hormones and breast cancer negative receptor hormones.

However, other studies suggest that how long women breastfeed their babies is not very important compared to whether women breastfeed their babies. The study showed that the risk of breast cancer reduction was the same for women who breastfed their babies for three months or for more than 3 years. And, there is also no difference in risk for women who breastfeed their babies exclusively or with certain additional foods.

The point is that by breastfeeding, you help yourself to avoid breast cancer. There are several reasons why breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer, namely:

Breastfeeding means that breast cells produce milk every time, thus limiting the ability of breast cells to deviate.
Women who breastfeed have fewer menstrual cycles, causing lower levels of the hormone estrogen in the body. The hormone estrogen is one of the things that plays a role in triggering breast cancer.
When breastfeeding women usually pay more attention to their nutritional intake, tend to choose nutritious foods and adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as not smoking and drinking alcohol, so that it also helps reduce the risk of breast cancer.

What if I don't breastfeed, am I at risk for breast cancer?

For those of you who can afford to breastfeed, you should exclusively feed your baby (ASI) for 6 months and continue breastfeeding for up to 2 years. Breastfeeding is proven to have many benefits for mothers and babies, one of which is reducing the risk of breast cancer.

However, for those of you who have not been fortunate to breastfeed, you should not worry. There are other ways you can avoid breast cancer. The most effective way to prevent breast cancer is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and implementing a balanced nutrition diet with low saturated fat intake can help you reduce your risk of breast cancer. In addition, you should also avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.

So, breastfeeding is not the only way to reduce the risk of breast cancer. But, it's best to breastfeed your baby as much as possible because breast milk is the most perfect food for your baby.

READ ALSO