Bogus Hypothesis on Breastfeeding Finally Put to Rest

October 5, 2005 - The Journal of the National Cancer Institute recently found that adults who were breastfed as infants do not have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. In addition, the report suggests that breastfeeding may actually lower the risk of breast cancer before the menopausal years.

The report was conducted in response to a 1930s hypotheses that stated that breastfeeding could actually boost an infant’s risk of developing malignant cells by transmitting cancer-causing viruses from mother to baby. Ever since, studies have tried to contradict this statement, but all have failed due to inconclusive results until now.

The study was performed by Dr. Richard Martin, from the University of Bristol in the UK. Dr. Martin and his colleagues studied 4379 individuals who were breastfed as infants. The subjects were analyzed in childhood in the late 1930s and again in 2003 to evaluate any cancer developments. Dr. Martin concluded that there is little evidence to support that breastfeeding causes a higher risk of cancer. In addition to these findings, breastfeeding was shown to actually cut one’s chances of pre-menopausal breast cancer by about 12-percent.

Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute

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