It is well known and accepted that infants derive numerous health benefits from breastfeeding. Not only is breastmilk considered a perfect food for infants, it also affords babies with passive immunity from their mothers.
A recent study has shown that infants are not the only ones who benefit from breastfeeding. Mothers too can experience improvements in their health.
While the study detailed below is small, it certainly provides an interesting observation: breastfeeding women who are living with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be able to postpone the use of medications.
Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who breastfeed exclusively for at least two months appear less likely to experience a relapse within a year after their baby’s birth, according to a new report.
The report followed a study in which doctors investigated 32 pregnant women with MS and 29 pregnant women without MS who were the same age. The participants were interviewed about clinical, menstrual and breastfeeding history during each trimester and again two, four, six, nine and 12 months after they gave birth. [ ]
“Of the 52 per cent of women with MS who did not breastfeed or began regular supplemental feedings within two months postpartum, 87 per cent had a postpartum relapse, compared with 36 per cent of the women with MS who breastfed exclusively for at least two months postpartum,” the study’s authors wrote.
“Why breastfeeding might be beneficial in humans with an autoimmune disease like MS has not been studied,” the study’s authors commented. Studies of immunity and breastfeeding, while plentiful, are predominantly focused on breast-milk content and health benefits to the infant. Little is known about maternal immunity during breastfeeding.”
The results suggest that women with MS should be encouraged to breastfeed exclusively for at least the first two months after birth instead of resuming medications, the authors noted. “Our findings call into question the benefit of foregoing breastfeeding to start MS therapies and should be confirmed in a larger study,” they concluded.
Source: Irish Medical Times