Breastfeeding
How does Increasing Breastfeeding Duration Impact a Person’s Health over their Lifetime?
Breastfeeding is more than nutrition - it’s a biologically active, dose-responsive health intervention. The benefits of which grow with duration and exclusivity for both infants and mothers. Large meta-analyses led by The Lancet’s Breastfeeding Series report that longer breastfeeding is linked with higher measured intelligence in childhood, fewer infections, lower obesity, and lower type 2 diabetes risk in offspring, as well as protection against malocclusion, with the overall evidence strongest for infection prevention and cognition (and no consistent signal for increased allergic disease) (Victora et al).
Contemporary policy reviews from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows similar findings, stating clear associations between more breastfeeding and lower moderate-to-severe respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in infancy and early childhood, outcomes that plausibly arise from human milk’s antibodies, antimicrobial proteins, and immunomodulators (Patnode et al., 2025). Respiratory or allergic outcomes are more complex: several recent syntheses suggest that exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 to 6 months is associated with a lower risk of wheeze and asthma in preschool years. However, heterogeneity in populations means effects are most consistent at younger ages and may attenuate later in childhood (Xue et al., 2021).
Oral and facial development appear to benefit as well. Systematic reviews indicate that breastfeeding reduces malocclusion risk, likely through favorable jaw and orofacial muscle activity compared with bottle-feeding or prolonged non-nutritive sucking (Peres et al., 2015). Beyond visible outcomes, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) selectively nourish beneficial gut microbes (especially Bifidobacterium), strengthen the intestinal barrier, and shape immune development; core mechanisms that help explain observed protection against infection and healthier metabolic set points in breastfed infants (Moubareck, 2021).
To branch out even further, analyses link breastfeeding with lower childhood leukemia incidence. Estimates suggest that breastfeeding for six months or more could prevent roughly 14 to 20% of cases which is consistent with the immune-maturation hypothesis for milk’s bioactives (Amitay & Keinan-Boker, 2015). At the same time, skin-to-skin contact and responsive feeding reliably support bonding and autonomic regulation. Although cortisol dynamics in milk and infants are complex and context-dependent, the oxytocin-rich, dyadic nature of breastfeeding generally aligns with calmer infant behavior and attachment security, and the practice itself is safe and supportive across diverse families and settings (Uvnäs-Moberg, 2024).
For mothers, lactation has immediate physiologic advantages and long-term chronic disease protection that last with complete months of breastfeeding. In the postpartum period, nipple stimulation and milk ejection reflexes trigger oxytocin release, which promotes uterine contraction and hemostasis. This goes on to accelerate uterine involution (uterine reverts to its pre-pregnancy state) and reduce postpartum blood loss, which is one reason early and frequent breastfeeding is a key part of fourth trimester recovery (Abedi et al., 2016).
Over years, dose-response and large cohort research associate longer lifetime lactation with lower risks of several major noncommunicable diseases. Each additional 12 months of breastfeeding is linked to approximately 4% reduction in maternal breast cancer risk, with similar associations for epithelial ovarian cancer that add up by 8% for every 5 months of breastfeeding. Additionally, evidence supports reduced endometrial cancer risk with longer duration (Stordal, 2022). Cardiometabolic profiles likewise benefit: systematic reviews show that greater lactation duration is correlated with lower maternal hypertension risk and improved cardiometabolic health years later. Separate studies demonstrate an inverse relationship between lactation and incident type 2 diabetes (including among people with prior gestational diabetes), with risk declining as months of breastfeeding increase (Tschiderer et al., 2022).
Weight trajectories often move in a favorable direction as well; breastfeeding beyond six months is consistently linked with lower postpartum weight retention, especially when paired with guideline-concordant gestational weight gain and ongoing lifestyle support (Jiang et al., 2018). Emerging work also suggests potential neurocognitive advantages for mothers later in life. Observational data from UCLA indicates that women over 50 who had breastfed performed better on tests of learning, memory, executive function, and processing speed than peers who never breastfed. Here, longer lifetime breastfeeding is linked to higher scores. This is a connection that suggests further study but is biologically plausible due to lactation’s effects on stress systems and metabolism (Lavretsky, 2021).
Taken together, the science supports a simple, family-centered message: when possible, increasing breastfeeding duration (ideally with exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months, then continued breastfeeding alongside complementary foods) produces additive benefits across the lifespan. At Cincinnati Birth Center, we pair this research with compassion and practical help such as early skin-to-skin, latch support, solutions for pumping or combination feeding, and culturally attuned counseling. This is so every family can pursue the feeding plan that fits their lives, confident that even incremental gains in breastfeeding time can have meaningful health returns for both mother and child.
References
Abedi, P., Jahanfar, S., Namvar, F., & Lee, J. (2016). Breastfeeding or nipple stimulation for reducing postpartum haemorrhage in the third stage of labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd010845.pub2
Amitay, E. L., & Keinan-Boker, L. (2015). Breastfeeding and childhood leukemia incidence. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(6). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1025
Jiang, M., Gao, H., Vinyes-Pares, G., Yu, K., Ma, D., Qin, X., & Wang, P. (2018). Association between breastfeeding duration and postpartum weight retention of lactating mothers: A meta-analysis of Cohort studies. Clinical Nutrition, 37(4), 1224–1231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2017.05.014
Lavretsky, H. (2021, October 22). New Study suggests that breastfeeding may help prevent cognitive decline. UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/release/new-study-suggests-breastfeeding-may-help-prevent-cognitive
Moubareck, C. A. (2021). Human milk microbiota and oligosaccharides: A glimpse into benefits, diversity, and correlations. Nutrients, 13(4), 1123. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041123
Patnode, C. D., Henrikson, N. B., Webber, E. M., Blasi, P. R., Senger, C. A., & Guirguis-Blake, J. M. (2025). Breastfeeding and health outcomes for infants and children: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 156(1). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2025-071516
Peres, K. G., Cascaes, A. M., Nascimento, G. G., & Victora, C. G. (2015). Effect of breastfeeding on Malocclusions: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Acta Paediatrica, 104(S467), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.13103
Stordal, B. (2022). Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer: A call for action in high‐income countries with low rates of breastfeeding. Cancer Medicine, 12(4), 4616–4625. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.5288
Tschiderer, L., Seekircher, L., Kunutsor, S. K., Peters, S. A., O’Keeffe, L. M., & Willeit, P. (2022). 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. Journal of the American Heart Association, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.121.022746
Uvnäs-Moberg, K. (2024). The physiology and pharmacology of oxytocin in labor and in the peripartum period. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 230(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2023.04.011
Victora, C., Rollins, N., Walker, N., Sankar, M., Murch, S., Krasevec, J., Horton, S., França, G., Barros, A., & Bahl, R. (n.d.). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: Epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. Lancet (London, England). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)01024-7/abstract
Xue, M., Dehaas, E., Chaudhary, N., O’Byrne, P., Satia, I., & Kurmi, O. P. (2021, December 13). Breastfeeding and risk of childhood asthma: A systematic review and meta-analysis. ERJ open research. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00504-2021
