Researchers from Austria, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Australia now have this new open-access meta-analysis in publication:
Title: Breastfeeding Is Associated With a Reduced Maternal Cardiovascular Risk: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis Involving Data From 8 Studies and 1,192,700 Parous Women.
In: Journal of the American Heart Association 2022; DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.121.022746
Authors: Lena Tschiderer, Lisa Seekircher, Setor K. Kunutsor, Sanne A. E. Peters, Linda M. O’Keeffe, Peter Willeit.
An excerpt from the ScienceDaily news release:
“The review found that 82% of the women reported they had breastfed at some time in their life. Compared to women who never breastfed, women who reported breastfeeding during their lifetime had a 11% decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Over an average follow-up period of 10 years, women who breastfed at some time in their life were 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease; 12% less likely to suffer strokes; and 17% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Women who breastfed for 12 months or longer during their lifetime appeared to be less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women who did not breastfeed. There were no notable differences in cardiovascular disease risk among women of different ages or according to the number of pregnancies.
“Despite recommendations to breastfeed by organizations including the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), both of which recommend babies are breastfed exclusively through at least six months of age, only 1 in 4 infants receives only breastmilk for the first six months of life. Black infants in the U.S. are less likely than white infants to be breastfed for any length of time, according to the CDC.
“‘It's important for women to be aware of the benefits of breastfeeding for their babies' health and also their own personal health,’ Willeit said. ‘Moreover, these findings from high-quality studies conducted around the world highlight the need to encourage and support breastfeeding, such as breastfeeding-friendly work environments, and breastfeeding education and programs for families before and after giving birth.’
“The U.S. has the highest maternal death rate among developed countries, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause, according to the 2021 Call to Action Maternal Health and Saving Mothers policy statement from the American Heart Association. The statement, which outlines public policies that address the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health, notes that an estimated 2 out of 3 deaths during pregnancy may be preventable.”
Abstract: "Background: Breastfeeding has been robustly linked to reduced maternal risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and type 2 diabetes. We herein systematically reviewed the published evidence on the association of breastfeeding with maternal risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. Methods and Results: Our systematic search of PubMed and Web of Science of articles published up to April 16, 2021, identified 8 relevant prospective studies involving 1,192,700 parous women (weighted mean age: 51.3 years at study entry, 24.6 years at first birth; weighted mean number of births: 2.3). A total of 982,566 women (82%) reported having ever breastfed (weighted mean lifetime duration of breastfeeding: 15.6 months). During a weighted median follow‐up of 10.3 years, 54,226 CVD, 26,913 coronary heart disease, 30,843 stroke, and 10,766 fatal CVD events were recorded. In a random‐effects meta‐analysis, the pooled multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios comparing parous women who ever breastfed to those who never breastfed were 0.89 for CVD (95% CI, 0.83–0.95; I2=79.4%), 0.86 for coronary heart disease (95% CI, 0.78–0.95; I2=79.7%), 0.88 for stroke (95% CI, 0.79–0.99; I2=79.6%), and 0.83 for fatal CVD (95% CI, 0.76–0.92; I2=47.7%). The quality of the evidence assessed with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool ranged from very low to moderate, which was mainly driven by high between‐studies heterogeneity. Strengths of associations did not differ by mean age at study entry, median follow‐up duration, mean parity, level of adjustment, study quality, or geographical region. A progressive risk reduction of all CVD outcomes with lifetime durations of breastfeeding from 0 up to 12 months was found, with some uncertainty about shapes of associations for longer durations. Conclusions: Breastfeeding was associated with reduced maternal risk of CVD outcomes.”
Open access: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.022746