Breastfeeding your baby for 6 months can halve the risk of diabetes

Breastfeeding is as important for the development of a baby as it is for the well-being of the mother since it impacts both their health.

Breastfeeding extends beyond basic nutrition, also reducing the mother’s stress-levels as well as the risk of postpartum depression.

Not only that, studies have shown that it also puts you at a lesser risk of some types of cancers.

Now, adding to the benefits of breastfeeding, a recent study has found that women who breastfeed their newborns for six months or longer significantly reduce their risk of developing diabetes by half as they get older.

The findings indicated that women who breastfed for six months or more had a 47 percent reduction in their risk of developing type-2 diabetes compared to those who did not breastfeed at all.

The new findings add to a growing body of evidence that breastfeeding has protective effects for both mothers and their offspring, including lowering a mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Lead author Erica P Gunderson from Kaiser Permanente Division of Research said: “We found a very strong association between breastfeeding duration and lower risk of developing diabetes, even after accounting for all possible confounding risk factors.”

The team analysed data during the 30 years of follow up from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study and enrolled about 5,000 adults aged 18 to 30 years in 1985 to 1986.