Hey all – this is Courtney!
Continuing into October and breast cancer awareness month, this time in regard to breastfeeding. Yes – breastfeeding!
DID YOU KNOW that research shows that breastfeeding your baby REDUCES your risk of pre-menopausal AND post-menopausal cancer, especially the longer you do it?? WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT????
Apparently since it can delay your menstrual cycle, and ovulation, you lessen your chance of being exposed to hormones that can increase your risk of cancer. The recommendation for those to receive this benefit is to breastfeed for a minimum of 6 months, but research shows that every 12 months of breastfeeding you reduce your risk of cancer by 4.3%, however a study from Australia showed that breastfeeding over 13 months were 63% less likely to develop ovarian cancer and women who breastfed longer than 31 months and multiple children reduced their chances by 91%!! How amazing is that?? To me that means you can add up the amount of time you breastfed each child. Whoa!
We know how breastfeeding often literally feels like life is being drained from us sometimes….and we know breastfeeding has so many benefits for our babies – but it isn’t often that we hear about how it can benefit the mother!! Finally, something they aren’t taking from us! haha
THIS IS IN NO WAY saying let’s have a contest to see who can breastfeed the longest…. remember no one is in competition here, we already put enough of that on ourselves when we shouldn’t. Any amount of time you breastfeed is a gift and we know how hard it is to maintain breastfeeding for a certain period. I sometimes have no idea how I breastfed my son for 2.5 years after an awful beginning to breastfeeding with our tongue tie journey. Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve quit earlier. So many what ifs.
This was more of a fun post about, yet again, how cool our bodies are! And finally, a win moms can celebrate for themselves, when we give so much, when those days get hard – remind yourself you are reducing your risk of cancer. <3
Of course, eating a nutritious, balanced diet, getting exercise on a regular basis, and limiting alcohol are other great ways to reduce your risk of breast cancer!
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