Pamela asks:

<Does anyone have any thoughts about whether another cause of lower
breast cancer rates in the over 50s just might be because
breastfeeding rates started to increase in a meaningful way in the US
about 25 years earlier?>

My CNN home page had this as one of their feature stories today, complete
with long blog full of comments, 99% from women, many from those who
described terrible suffering of menopausal symptoms when their HRT was
discontinued. Others were completely on the opposite side of the issue, in
favor of avoiding HRT to take "every possible way to avoid breast cancer
risks". Several younger women brought up the obvious question that if HRT is
so bad, then what about the hormones in years and years worth of various
types of BCP??

No one mentioned a word, let alone a question about breastfeeding's effect
on either pre- or post-menopausal breast cancer rates. Before there are any
good answers to your question Pamela, much future research will have to be
done, which will absolutely have to include the breastfeeding history of
each woman studied as well as her other reproductive history, genetic risks,
HRT risks, etc. etc. as variables. There are no easy answers and apparently
no totally risk free alternatives.

Jean
*********
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, OH USA

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