Breastfeed and Reduce Cancer Risk—for You and Your Child

1/31/2008

I often find myself discussing breastfeeding benefits with parents. Most are aware of the commonly known benefits of nursing, such as:

• reducing allergy potential
• improving intelligence
• preventing obesity
• improving eyesight
• creating a strong mother-child bond.

However, they are often surprised to hear what’s at the top of my own list of benefits: reducing cancer risk for both mom and baby.

How does nursing protect your child from cancer?

Incidence of the commonest leukemias in children--acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)--is significantly reduced in children who are breastfed. Reductions occur in other kinds of cancers, such as certain types of childhood brain tumors, too. But what’s the link between nursing and cancer? Some researchers postulate that the immune-protective elements in breast milk may prevent genes linked to childhood cancers from being turned on.

I believe these studies reveal only the tip of the anti-cancer iceberg, that if several cancers are reduced, then most childhood cancers may be, as well. Unfortunately we won’t know for sure until many more years of research and investigation have been done.

Does nursing protect the mother from cancer too?

Mothers who breastfeed show a decrease in incidence of pre-menopausal breast cancer. (Rates of cancer in postmenopausal women don’t seem to be affected.) Once again I believe that if there is one known cancer reduction benefit, there are likely many more, especially in those cancers influenced by reproductive hormones.

So when choosing nutrition for your baby, make the smart, anti-cancer choice!