Breast Feeding Benefits To Avoid Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is one of the most glaring health risks for any woman. Women who might have a family history stand higher chances of contacting breast cancer. Breast cancer may also get triggered due to unhealthy lifestyle and habits like excessive smoking and alcoholism.
Breast cancer may turn fatal if not treated or if the individual doesn’t respond to treatment. Breast cancer is one of the major causes of deaths in women.
Breast cancer usually affects the breast tissues that are related to the milk ducts which produce milk after a pregnancy. Medical research claims that along with healthy lifestyle and healthy balanced diet breast feeding can also abate the risks of breast cancer to a significant extent.
After a pregnancy usually women’s breasts begin to produce milk to feed the new born. However many women prefer not to feed her new born with her breast milk as she may be concerned about the shape of her breasts and many other things.
New mothers are advised not to avoid breast feeding their new born as this is a lovely experience and the breast milk is also healthy for the baby. Breast feeding doesn’t take anything away from you but ensures both the mother and baby a good health.
Risk factors of breast cancer
There are several potential factors for breast cancer possibility. Family history is a very important factor. Age, genetic predisposition and race can also be risk factors and such factors can’t be controlled. Long term exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone may also trigger breast cancer in women who may have begun to menstruate early in life or their menopause has come late. However other factors like lifestyle, habits and choice of breast feeding are definitely in our hands to prevent breast cancer.
The controllable factors of breast cancer which are in the hands of women are the choice of having children late or not having them at all. Even if they do have some many consider not to breast feed for obvious reasons or may even have some problems for which they are unable to breast feed. Using birth control pills are also believed to increase risks of breast cancer. Obesity, bad habits and unhealthy lifestyle are some other controllable risk factors of breast cancer.
There are also few possible risk factors which may have a connection to prompt breast cancer tissue growth and these are pollution, certain dietary patterns, breast implants, use of deodorants etc. However many women may fall under potential risk factors and yet not develop breast cancer while some others may suffer from the same without even coming under any of the risk factors.
Therefore, it can’t be absolutely established which women face more danger that others for breast cancer. We may not be able to avoid the uncontrollable factors but the fact that any woman may face the risk just because of her gender it is recommended that every woman must at least pursue the preventive measures to avoid any possibilities of breast cancer.
Importance of breast feeding
A pregnancy is one of the most wonderful phases of a woman’s life and so is the experience of breast feeding her child, which is also a lovely feeling. Breast feeding has many benefits; it is the only nutrition for the new born and it contains all the essential nutrients that are necessary for the new born which can’t be sufficed with bottle feeding.
Breast milk also provides immunity to the new born and protects it from contacting infections. Breast feeding can also create sleep patterns in babies thereby eliminating chances of sudden infant death syndrome to a great extent. Breast feeding also makes the child more intelligent and physically healthy by minimizing chances of getting obese.
Breast feeding paves the way for mother child bonding and gives the mother a sense of satisfaction and happiness. It is important to breast feed to get back to shape faster after a pregnancy. The uterus and also the body get back to earlier shape faster and fat reduction happens naturally.
The woman also doesn’t face the risk of getting immediately pregnant again as breast feeding holds back ovulation for a while. The woman also receives long term benefits from breast feeding such as lesser possibilities of breast cancer, osteoporosis and heart diseases. Thus the benefits of breast feeding are manifold for both the mother and child and therefore shouldn’t be avoided by mothers who are able to breast feed.
Breast feeding to prevent breast cancer
Breast cancer chances are accelerated by the effects of the hormones estrogen and thus pregnancy before the age 30 and breast feeding the baby reduces chances of breast cancer significantly. Breast feeding done at least for over a year and a half reduces chances of breast cancer.
Lesser the number of menstrual cycles lesser will be the exposure to estrogen therefore pregnancy and breast feeding which reduces menstrual cycles and estrogen levels can prevent breast cancer significantly.
Breast tissues contain lot of fat which are potential storage places for carcinogens received from the environment. Breast feeding reduces this possibility. Cancer causing mutations are also effectively controlled as breast feeding makes the breast cells strong and immune towards cancer.
Hence the several benefits of breast feeding along with the possibility of controlling breast cancer to a considerable extent can make new mothers understand the importance of breast feeding.
Other effective measures to combat breast cancer
While the uncontrollable factors may not be in our hands yet all women can at least pursue certain steps to prevent any possibilities or risk factors of breast cancer. Lifestyle is an important factor; a woman’s body is different from that of a man and though the modern woman may lead a lifestyle not much different from that of a man yet she must consider avoiding few things which may bring possible risks towards her health.
Such things are over indulgence in alcoholism, smoking and consuming unhealthy foods. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, consuming healthy foods and doing regular exercise can reduce several chances of contacting cancer of any kind. Some new mothers are unable to breast fed their babies due to certain medical condition. They should take proper recommendations from the physician on how to handle the problem while lifestyle modifications may prevent breast feeding inabilities.
