Yet more research has been done confirming the protective factors of breastfeeding for women. This time, it was done in the at-risk population of women with a family history of breast cancer. [Full article]

What kills me about this particular article is that it clearly illustrates how the study was performed, why it is better than studies of the past, and the conclusions you can draw from it; then at the end, some breast cancer doctor says that women can’t be expected to upend their lives in order to breastfeed their babies.

Uh, I would think, given the choice of breastfeeding my children, or having my breasts prophylactic-ally lopped off, I’m going to choose breastfeeding thank-you-very-much. I’d be willing to do just about anything to avoid being butchered. The study even concluded that women benefit from as little as 3 months of nursing their babies. 3 months and they can cut their risk in half. Imagine what a year could do!

If our doctors, hosptials, and birth centers focused on breastfeeding as preventative medicine and really worked toward helping mothers and babies reach their greatest potential, so many women would not have to suffer the agonies of cancer and cancer treatment.

But God forbid we should ask women to challenge themselves in the short term for long term gain. That’s just asking too much.