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Breastfeeding moms have lower depression risk, study finds
– Reported August 22, 2014
‘Breastfeeding cuts new mothers’ risk of depression by half, a study says.
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 14,000 births in England and found that risk of post-partum depression was 50 percent lower among women who followed through on plans to breast-feed, BBC News reported.
However, the risk of depression more than doubled among women who planned to breast-feed, but were unable to do so, according to the study in the journal Maternal and Child Health.
“It is right to tell mothers it’s right to breast-feed, there’s so many benefits, but the thing we need to rethink is giving more support to those who did want to breast-feed and to recognize those who are unable to, are at substantially elevated risk and to make sure health visitors keep an eye on these women,” Dr. Maria Iacovou, one of the researchers, told BBC News.