A new study from the University of Western Sydney found that women who breastfed were at a reduced risk of developing high blood pressure.
Researchers from the University of Western Sydney School of Medicine found that the longer a woman breastfed, lower are the chances of developing high blood pressure. But the breastfeeding benefits in the women were no longer seen after the age of 64. Researchers hope to reinstate the importance of breastfeeding among mothers which has benefits for both child and the mother.
"Hopefully this research will add to the discussion between women and their physicians and midwives. Whenever possible, women should be encouraged to breastfeed as long as possible as the protective effect of breastfeeding increases with the length of time breastfeeding," says Dr Lind, a senior lecturer in molecular biology and genetics, according to Medical Xpress.
For this study, researchers analyzed 74,785 Australian women who were aged 45 years and over, to determine the link between breastfeeding history and occurrence of high blood pressure. According to Dr Joanne Lind from the UWS School of Medicine, the study is the first of a kind among the Australian women. Also it remains unknown as to how breastfeeding reduced the chances of high blood pressure, but Dr. Lind assumes that the hormones released during the breastfeeding may be beneficiary for the mother's heart.
"Despite us not fully understanding the protective mechanism, breastfeeding history should now be considered when assessing a patient's likelihood of having high blood pressure in later life," she explained. "Even when we took into account potentially contributing factors such as family history and lifestyle - physical activity and BMI, history of smoking, drinking alcohol - we still found an association between breastfeeding and a lower likelihood of having high blood pressure."
Hence, it is highly essential that mothers are encouraged to breastfeed for their own health and the baby's too, unless there is a medical need to stop breastfeeding.
"This study provides further support for the WHO recommendations, as both the total amount of time a woman spends breastfeeding in her lifetime, and the length of time she spends breastfeeding each child, are associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of having high blood pressure," says Dr Lind.
The findings of the study are published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, an international peer-reviewed scientific journal.
