![530042299 Mother breast-feeds baby](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/breastfeeding.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
A study has found that breast-feeding may help women who have gestational diabetes from becoming lifelong diabetics.
Researchers from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, monitored women who had developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy for two years after birth. Their study, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, found that their risk of developing Type-2 diabetes was cut by half the longer they breast-fed, reports the New York Times.
“Pregnancy is a metabolic challenge,” Erica P. Gunderson, the study’s lead author, told the New York Times. Glucose levels are lower during lactation and there is less demand for insulin. “One of the possible biologic explanations is that this gives the woman’s pancreatic beta cells a bit of a break, allowing for recovery from the demands of pregnancy.”
The results come at the heels of findings published late last month, which found that breast-feeding may help protect women from hormone receptor negative tumors— an incredibly aggressive type of breast cancer.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com