Women who breastfeed for more than six months have higher chances of surviving breast cancer, a new study has found.
According to the study, published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine, breastfeeding for longer than six months is also associated with a better survival rate.
In the study, the researchers examined the link between lifetime breastfeeding history and both breast cancer-specific and overall survival among women.
They found that both breast cancer mortality and overall mortality risk were less after 20 years among women.
"This study confirms that the long-term maternal health benefits of breastfeeding are not only preventative in nature, but that it also has the capacity to reduce the severity of breast cancer," said Arthur I. Eidelman, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Breastfeeding Medicine.