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Some Breast-Feeding Moms Risk Osteoporosis
Filed under: In The News, Breast-Feeding, Research Reveals: Babies
Switching from breast to bottle after a few years could save your bones. Credit: Getty Images
A new study shows that moms who engage in extended breast-feeding, which researchers defined as 36 months or longer, are at a higher risk for osteoporosis after menopause, reports Reuters Health.
That's right: Give your toddler the boob and you're going to shrink when you get old. Or, fall down and break a hip.
The study looked at a group of 567 post-menopausal Mexican women with mixed genetic backgrounds and found that mothers who nursed their children for 36 months or more were twice as likely to get the disease than those who didn't. Osteoporosis is when bone tissue and density decrease, resulting in pain and an increased risk of breaking a bone.
"One of the principal conclusions is the importance of considering the duration of breast-feeding as an important risk factor for osteoporosis," lead author Dr. Patricia Canto, of the National Medical Center in Mexico City, tells Reuters Health.
She adds that the study was intended to show risk factors associated with the disease.
About 67 percent of Mexican madres breast-feed exclusively, and, on average, have two or more children. Researchers find this fact troubling, because it may lead more moms to develop osteoporosis.
But while the study is, indeed, significant, some experts say it's difficult to draw any real conclusions from it.
Dr. Patricia Clark, of the Children's Hospital of Mexico in Mexico City, points out that other studies have found no association between osteoporosis and breast-feeding.
"It's a very controversial topic," Clark tells Reuters Health. "I don't think women who breast-feed and have a lot of children should be particularly worried they'll get osteoporosis."
What can moms do to prevent the disease? Get lots of exercise and eat well during pregnancy and breast-feeding, Clark says.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2010 @ 5:46PM
Slim said...WOW this is avery bold statement:
"About 67 percent of Mexican madres breast-feed exclusively, and, on average, have two or more children. Researchers find this fact troubling, because it may lead more moms to develop osteoporosis."
And doesn't seem to be a logical consequence. Not all women who breast feed their children do it for more than 36 months.
Bad journalism or dumb researchers?
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 2:19AM
Kat said...The research here is so bias toward Mexican women, that it can't be taken seriously. Now, if they had done this very same study, on say 1 million women, from all different nationalities, races and genetic background, and then varied the number of months breastfed from 1-36, and still found the same result...then it would be a more accurate result.
No reason to scare women into not breastfeeding...oh wait...we can't do anything for free these days, not even feed a baby. Thats why formula is so damn expensive...someone has to make a buck.
The truth is the chemicals in soda and coffee will dehydrate you, striping your cells of nutrients and the water it needs to function properly, cause arthritis, cancer and leach our bones of the calcium they need, and many of us don't get enough to begin with--this is the real leading cause of so many diseases, including osteoporosis, but the FDA doesn't want people to know that because we are all addicted to soda and coffee and those companies would lose too much money.
Do your research on soda, and coffee and the effects on the body. The information is out there for people who really want to know why they are sick all the time.
If you don't want osteoporosis, then stop drinking the poison that leaches vitamins and minerals from your bones.
Google watercure.com and sweetpoison.com for more information
Reply
10-19-2011 @ 12:35PM
Libby'sMom said...As someone with osteoporosis in the spine and osteopenia in the hip at age 55--who had my first child at 32 and third at 40 AND breast fed them --increasing the length of time from 6 mos of first child, 18 mos. for second and three years for child three, I think more studies should be done on the topic of extended breast feeding, especially in mothers approaching peri-menopause. Also important is the extended period of time without a menstrual cycle--two years after each pregnancy--with lowered estrogen levels--directly related to developing osteoporosis. Women should get complete information and "unlimited" breast feeding just may have diminishing marginal benefit. While there is an inverse relationship to years breast feeding and breast cancer, there seems to be a direct relationship to years of breast feeding and development of osteoporosis, especially for women with early menopause. Knowing this, I would still breast feed all three children, but I would have ended the 'snacks" of my three year old--at 2 years--and I would have been more religious about calcium and vitamin D supplementation--especially vit D.
12-07-2010 @ 9:56PM
wilmawagler said...What a stupid article!!!!I am not Mexican & had more than 1 child ,I'm proud to say I breastfed all of them totally..& have never been sorry ...now post menopausal
Reply
12-08-2010 @ 10:01AM
abccalnan said...The benefits of extended breastfeeding far outwwigh this supposed risk from it. The longer a woman breastfeeds, the greater her chances of fending off breast cancer in her lifetime.
Reply
1-20-2011 @ 6:56AM
Meg said...This sounds like a biased study. There are many factors that increase a woman's chance of osteoporisis. Some people choose to breastfeed around the world, because they have no other choice. Formula is too expensive. The socio-economic impact of their lifestyle, might also preclude them from eating a well balanced diet, which would be a stronger indicator for osteoporosis. These observative studies are not double-blind tests and with so many variables, these types of studies are not reliable from a scientific and statistical point. There are many benefits of exclusive breast-feeding for a minimum of 6 months and great benefits to your child for extending breastfeeding to two years, although not exclusively. Did any of these women take vitamins or calcium supplements? I would guess if the researchers asked these questions, the answer would be no.
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