Breastfeeding helps your heart

A large study found that women who breastfed for a lifetime total of at least two years had 19 per cent fewer heart attacks later in life than mothers who had never breastfed.

The reason is thought to be that by turning fat that’s put on during pregnancy into nutrients for the infant, breastfeeding lowers a mother’s weight, cholesterol and blood pressure.

The study’s author, Dr Alison Stuebe of Harvard Medical School, advises women to feed their babies breastmilk exclusively for at least six months and then to continue nursing for at least six months longer