breastfeeding prevents cancer October 31, 2007
The most comprehensive research to date makes it clearer than ever before: BREASTFEEDING TRULY PREVENTS CANCER.
Why this is so controversial is unclear to me. Obviously, there are risk-benefit analyses for individual women where the risk of breastfeeding indisputably outweighs the risks of artificial feeding. And some women - very few — are truly unable to breastfeed. That’s very clearly the case.
However, it is also quite clear that decreased breastfeeding rates over the past century have corresponded with soaring breast cancer rates. This link seemed anecdotally intriguing, but now peer reviewed medical research lays out: women who do not breastfeed are at notably, remarkably higher risk for breast cancer.
We all have to balance risks and benefits in our daily lives. I choose not to smoke. I choose to breastfeed.
On the other hand, my diet (especailly since C was born and I am so slammed) is not ideal, I drink alcohol regularly, and even at my best weight, I could stand to lose 15 lbs. These are documented breast cancer risks. I am willing to admit this.
Why is breastfeeding a more emotionally sensitive risk factor than weight? I know I need to weigh 120 lbs instead of 130. I freely admit this. It would lower my risk of breast cancer. Why do women who choose to formula feed instead of breastfeed not similarly admit they are raising their risk for breast cancer?
It sounds a little oversimplified to me, Katie. Just because it is a statistically significant finding does not mean it holds true for everyone as individuals.
The problem is the leaps people will make to: “you chose not to breastfeed - you deserve to have cancer”, some of which is implied in the language you are using. This troubles me.
Sure, it’s a choice - and one that is incredibly difficult - you have written yourself of the challenges of breastfeeding and holding down a career - not to mention mother other children, be a wife, etc. And you actually have a supportive partner. Not everyone is in this situation. If their “choice” not to breastfeed - which is not actually a choice for many women given their circumstances - it’s yet one more way to blame women for their own fates rather than look at systemtic issues.
I don’t think her language implies its anyones fault for getting cancer by choosing not to breastfeed. It just seems like common sense, it doesn’t have to be emotional, its logical that nursing would lower a risk of breast cancer. Breasts are a body part with a simple function & if that function is ignored or barely used, its not as healthy. It also makes sense that the longer a woman breastfeeds the lower her chance may be. Pregnancy causes a lot of changes & cell growth in the breasts, they are ready to go on to the next step of sustaining a baby, if that step is skipped, that can’t be good for the cells that now have nothing to do.
Britney-
Certainly there are many cultural and institutional barriers in the U.S. to successfully breastfeeding; you are correct that I’ve written about them, and I will continue to write about them. They are important. But that’s a red herring in the context of this discussion. There are also many cultural reasons for obesity, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that obesity clearly raises one’s risk for cancer. Being willing to admit that the science supports this fact doesn’t “blame women” for cancer.
I understand that there is not a direct correlation - that the science is looking at risk across populations. Not every fat person will get cancer. Not every smoker will get cancer. And not every woman who does not breastfeed will get cancer.
Katie
PS: And while lots of women are thwarted by external barriers in their efforts to successfully brestfeed, there are also many women who simply choose not to.
Choice is their right. All I am saying is that we should be honest about the risks and benefits of that choice.
I’m not sure that this is a behavior limited to the issue of breastfeeding. I’ve seen a lot of denial about the impact of one’s choices on long term health in my family. e.g. my mom with Type 2 diabetes who chugs Pepsi because she’s “thirsty”.
She did breastfeed though!
I understand your point - but you said you did not see why it was controversial - so that’s what I was responding to - I’m not advocating one way or other other. I was outlining what I see as issues making the “not breastfeeding causes cancer” controversial to some people. And yes, controversy is not always logical..it’s very hard to detangle the issues. In essence, I see the controversy as:
Yes, obviously, breastfeeding is a healthy thing to do - for both mother and child. At the same time it is not possible for everyone to breastfeed given how our society is currently structured (multiple demands and expectations for women without the support we need). Therefore women have to make choices that are not easy but often come down to “choosing” between making a living and breastfeeding - they may well not be able to do both, and this isn’t really a choice at all. Like you said - some women may choose not to breastfeed for other reasons - but the reasons can be complex - and controversial, and I don’t see it a simple matter of “choice.”
I CHOOSE not to become pregnant.
I’d be interested to know if these studies are testing women who have never become pregnant alongside the 2 groups of women who have become pregnant and have or have not breast fed.
my understanding is that it is the cessation of menses. If breastfeeding prevents periods for a longer season, then it is up there with having more kids and using the pill to suppress one’s period. It is not as simple as “breastfeeding”. I would also be real curious to see if they can possibly detangle the breastfeeding from other positive health behaviors common in the same population. Lastly, MORE women are breastfeeding now than at any time since formula became available. yet cancer rates are up. what’s the correlation here? My personal opinion about the “more cancer” of all stripes is that people simply live longer and don’t succumb to other things so they have a greater chance of getting cancer simply by default.
I would further add, having read these articles, that breastfeeding is the LEAST of the factors that they mention> It is quite far down on the list. They also mention having lots of kids and having them earlier in life. As we all know, life does not always cooperate in that fashion. What then? have a lot of kids “just” to maybe prevent cancer? There is also mention of the abortion/breast cancer link in one of these articles. What of that? Why are you not crusading against abortion? Finally, it seems THE biggest factor is obesity. If you think people don’t outcry about this, you obviously have not encountered “fat rights” people. I don’t personally buy the “protection against obesity” bit with breastfeeding because I think the link is that people who bf tend to be all around more health conscious and that’s where the correlation comes from. I know of kids within the same family where the bf one is chunkier than the formula fed one because of food preferences. But by and large, I think the people who put importance on bf are also the ones making sure their kids get plenty of fruits and veggies etc etc and less of the corn dogs and chips and high fat processed foods. If you note the language, the word “may” is used. The biggest advice is to lose weight and eat right. BF seems to have a “can’t hurt, might help” attitude. That’s my take on it too: can’t hurt but not sure I buy the hype and it “might” help.
I’ll bet breastfeeding provides a kind of twofold protection against breast cancer, at least in some women. Besides the protective effect lactation seems to have in and of itself, it also helps women shed pregnancy weight, and carrying around extra weight is linked to breast cancer. It’d probably be hard to separate the effects of breastfeeding itself and the weight loss many women experience as a side effect.
actually I have heard a LOT of women say that the business about shedding pregnancy weight is bunk. I think the main protection is that it stops your period for a lot longer (in most cases). and the more periods you have over your life, the more at risk you are for cancer