Breastfeeding may lower a woman's risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new study from China.
The study, which analyzed 289,573 women, found moms who breastfed for any length of time were about 10 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke, and those who breastfed for two years or more had an even lower risk, USA Today reported.
Each additional six months of breastfeeding lowered risks even more, Medical News Today said. The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Heart disease is the top cause of death for adults in the U.S., with one in every four deaths, about 610,000 a year, attributed to it. Stroke is a leading cause of disability, with more than 795,000 people each year having a stroke in the U.S., Medical News Today reported.
It was not clear from the study whether the act of breastfeeding improved health in some way, or whether healthier women chose to breastfeed more often than those who were overweight or had other health issues, USA Today reported.
Women may not be able to breastfeed for a variety of reasons and shouldn’t feel guilt or shame about it, USA Today emphasized. Not every woman who doesn’t breastfeed will develop heart issues, and some who do breastfeed will still develop heart disease.
“I want to emphasize women shouldn’t be made to feel guilty if they do not breastfeed because there could be reasons why they can’t,” Mayo Clinic cardio-ob director Lori Blauwet said, USA Today reported.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers breastfeed for one year.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.