Breastfeeding Cuts Breast Cancer Risk

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine August 2009 by Alison Stuebe reported that women who breast-fed their infants had a 59% reduction in incidence of premenopausal breast cancer if they had a first degree family member with a history of breast cancer.

Studies previous to this have shown conflicting results with regards to breast feeding and risk of breast cancer. This prospective study involved 60,000 premenopausal nurses, 87% of which breast fed their infants. Of these 608 cases of premenopausal breast cancer were identified. There was a significant lower incidence of premenopausal breast cancer in the women who had breast fed their infants in comparison to those that had not. There was no relationship with regards to duration of lactation or exclusivity of breast feeding, in contrast to other studies. Also, if there was no family history of breast cancer, there was no reduction in breast cancer incidence.

In addition, this same study found a reduced risk of breast cancer in women who did not breast-feed but who used medication to suppress lactation (Parlodel). The mechanism behind this is unknown but might relate to the reduction of inflammation that occurs with engorgement. Parlodel, which has been used to prevent lactation, has been out of vogue recently due to the risk of stroke and heart attack.

The overall conclusion of this study is that women who have a family history of breast cancer should be encouraged to breast feed, even for short periods of time, to reduce their risk. Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy for women to develop worldwide and any reduction in risk is relevant. In addition there are many other benefits to breast feeding such as reduction in risk of ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease for the mother and reduced risk of infection, diabetes, and obesity for the child.

Beauté de Maman™ has recognized the importance of breast-feeding and has developed a unique product to prevent nipple pain and infection.

We have created a special non-greasy, easy to apply gel. Many of the common nipple gels on the market today are dark, greasy, and sticky, clinging and staining your bra. They contain lanolin, which is cholesterol with no anti-infective properties. In addition, lanolin is made from grazing animals that ingest pesticides which may become incorporated into the lanolin itself–requiring strict purification to avoid infant contamination.

Beauté de Maman has gone one step further by creating a better, more effective product for women. We have designed a natural, omega 3 fatty acid based gel that contains no cholesterol. The gel is easy to apply and can be left on the nipple until the next feeding. We have incorporated a natural, herbal, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal herb into the product. This herb is known to have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory properties.

We have tested this product extensively on postpartum women and found it to be superior to other products in preventing sore, cracked nipples and mastitis. Our herbal ingredient has also been shown to cause uterine contractions, which will aid in restoring the uterus back to normal size and prevention of blood loss postpartum.

The role of an obstetrician/gynecologist is to not only be aware of the problems that their patients encounter, but also to be supportive and knowledgeable in helping women understand the importance and benefits of breast-feeding. Beauté de Maman’s goal is to provide high quality products to enable more women to breast-feed successfully thus improving the health of their infants as well as their own well being.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 12:58 pm and is filed under nipple gel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.