Breastfeeding a newborn for at least over a period of six months is highly recommended as it is the only source of nutrition that builds the immunity of a child in the initial months. But breastfeeding is also beneficial for the mother as it is tied to lower blood pressure in mothers. It protects mothers from developing high blood pressure (BP) for longer-term, suggests a study. Breastmilk protects the babies against common illnesses such as diarrhoea and studies have also found that women who breastfeed have lower risk of diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease later in life. 14 Advantages of Breastfeeding For The Baby and The Mom.

Hypertension is relatively common in pregnancy and lactation may be a means through pregnancy-related vascular risk factors including chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, and pre-eclampsia could be mitigated. The findings by researchers Eliana Bonifacino from Montefiore Hospital, in Pennsylvania, US, showed that breastfeeding for as short as one to four months can decrease the risk of high BP in nursing mothers, as well as protect them across an extended follow-up of years up to decades.

Among 15 studies reviewed that had longer-term follow-up, 67 per cent of those evaluated for elevated blood pressure - and 100 per cent of the studies that assessed for an outcome of hypertension - showed a protective association with lactation, the researchers reported in the paper published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine.

"Once again, it is confirmed that breastfeeding provides major health benefits not only to the infant but, also, no less so, to the nursing mother," said Arthur I. Eidelman, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine. Lactation is protective against many risk factors for cardiovascular disease, Type-2 diabetes in addition to benefits seen with as little as one month of the process, according to the study. Breastfeeding is a normal physiological process following pregnancy. When the normal process is disrupted there is no doubt there are increased health risks.

(With IANS Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 25, 2018 09:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).