Monday, April 21, 2008

In the news

Does breastfeeding protect a woman against breast cancer? The evidence says yes.

This is the quote that really interested me:

The most likely explanation for the reduced risk is that lactation works through hormones to delay ovulation and the return of a woman's monthly cycles, Karen Collins, a registered dietitian and nutrition adviser to the group, said in an e-mail. It has long been known that the fewer menstrual cycles a woman has over the course of her life, the lower the risk of breast cancer.

As someone with endometriosis, the topic of menstrual cycles is also of interest, so when breastfeeding and menses collide in a research paper it really grabs my attention.

3 comments:

ninjapoodles said...

Honestly? Given everything I learned about my raging endometriosis (hello, giant tumors!) in my 30's, if I had it to do over again, I'd have taken CBCPs from about age 17 on. No kidding. Or even sooner, since I began menstruating at age 11. "The curse," indeed.

And, interestingly, how much of a break from periods did I get while breastfeeding my baby? NONE. That's right, not so much as ONE stinking missed period. Started up again exactly 28 days after the birth, and continued like clockwork, despite the fact that I exclusively breastfed for 8 or 9 months, and then continued nursing my daughter until she was about 2.5.

For some of us, our hormones are just WHACKED.

Unknown said...

You know, I'd be really interested in knowing how many women with endo had that experience with breastfeeding and menses. I got my period back at six weeks. I exclusively nursed for about 9 months, and then continued nursing until my daughter was 3.5.

My periods were not as heavy while I was breastfeeding - of course, my version of 'not as heavy' is, well, pretty damn heavy. And once my daughter began to wean, my hormones went ballistic and I launched headlong into the worst three years of my life.

My IUD is my best friend. I love my IUD.

ninjapoodles said...

Um, ditto, ditto, and ditto.

Another interesting thing (to me) that Dr. Cook shared with me when he did my major (I had several, but this one was THE surgery) endo surgery was that the majority of his patients who came to be treated for endo also had hernias. I sure did--double hernia. And no one had ever caught it, even when I went in TELLING them I thought I had a hernia.