Whip out the girls to slim down

The benefits of breastfeeding for infants are countless, but researchers are also finding increasingly more evidence that nursing can boost mom's health, too.

The latest study, presented at an American Heart Association conference last week, found that women who consistently breastfed their children for at least three months had waist sizes that were an average 2.6 inches smaller than women who had never breastfed, according to Yahoo! and HealthDay.

The long list of good things in mother's milk offers your baby lifelong benefits - from a stronger immune system, better brain development and blood pressure to a lower likelihood of alcoholism later in life.

But don't forget about the advantages for mom (especially older moms): Nursing not only helps you lose those pregnancy kilos faster, there is now evidence that it lowers your risk for breast cancer and heart attacks later in life.