Breastfeeding cuts risks of heart disease, diabetes in mothers

A mother who has gestational diabetes increases the risk that her child will become obese during childhood, said Professor Tan Kok Hian of KK Women's and Children's Hospital, but breastfeeding a baby for at least six months reduces that risk.
A mother who has gestational diabetes increases the risk that her child will become obese during childhood, said Professor Tan Kok Hian of KK Women's and Children's Hospital, but breastfeeding a baby for at least six months reduces that risk. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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Gestational diabetes increases the risk of mothers and their children developing Type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.

One way of reducing such risks is to breastfeed the baby, studies have shown.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 31, 2018, with the headline Breastfeeding cuts risks of heart disease, diabetes in mothers. Subscribe