Breastfeeding helps the mother burn extra calories faster, thereby facilitating a quicker loss of post-pregnancy weight. “The health benefits to the mother from breastfeeding may be explained by a faster ‘reset’ of the mother’s metabolism after pregnancy,” explained Sanne Peters, a research fellow at University of Oxford. Breastfeeding is the easiest and the most natural way to shed the kilos and drop the unnecessary weight for newbie mothers. It is considered a much better way, rather than resorting to other measures such as extreme dieting or vigorous exercise.
Peters further elaborates, “Pregnancy changes a woman’s metabolism dramatically as she stores fat to provide the energy necessary for her baby’s growth. Breastfeeding could eliminate the stored fat faster and more completely.”
This study comes after previous research indicated that mothers get short-term health benefits from breastfeeding such as weight loss and lower cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels after pregnancy.
“The findings should encourage more widespread breastfeeding for the benefit of the mother as well as the child,” said Zhengming Chen, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Oxford.