Breastfeeding Works As Pain Relief After Caesarean Section

Breast milk is the most important and best-suited source of food for newborns during their first months of life. But it has also been shown that breastfeeding works as a pain relief after cesarean section.

The effects of breastfeeding on cesarean section pain are not very well known.

Statistics show that the proportion of cesarean births is increasing. They represent about 25% of all births in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

Studies show that at least 1 in 5 mothers who give birth in this way will suffer from persistent pain for more than three months. However, a new study showed that breastfeeding can work as an effective pain reliever.

How did they come to the conclusion that breastfeeding works as pain relief after cesarean section?

The results that breastfeeding acts as pain relief were obtained after a study performed by Dr. Carmen Alicia Vargas Berenjeno and her colleagues from the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de Valme. The university is located in the Spanish city of Seville.

The study looked at 185 mothers who underwent a caesarean section at the hospital in Seville between January 2015 and December 2016.

To obtain the results, the authors interviewed the mothers about their breastfeeding patterns and levels of chronic pain during the first 24-72 hours after the caesarean section. They then interviewed the mothers again four months later.

According to the researchers, 87% of mothers breastfed their children. Only 58% of mothers answered that they had breastfed their children for two months or more.

The results showed that 23% of mothers who breastfed their children for two months or less experienced chronic pain around the surgical scar for up to four months after the operation.

This was not the case with mothers who breastfed for a long time.

Instead, only 8% of women who breastfed for two months or longer reported chronic pain.

Prolonged breastfeeding works as pain relief

The results of the study showed that mothers who breastfeed their children for at least two months after surgery are three times less likely to experience persistent pain. The question is whether it is the pain that makes mothers stop breastfeeding or whether it is breastfeeding that reduces the pain.

According to researcher Carmen Vargas: “These results suggest that breastfeeding for more than two months protects mothers from chronic pain after a caesarean section. The risk of chronic pain is three times greater if breastfeeding lasts for two months or less. ”

The expert group also pointed out other good reasons why mothers should breastfeed their children, but think that breastfeeding works as pain relief should become more widely known

According to the data, women with a university degree were less likely to suffer from chronic pain than those with a lower level of education.

In addition, 54% of breastfeeding mothers reported that they suffer from anxiety. It should be noted that although this study was not intended to show temporary relationships, the researchers claim that anxiety during breastfeeding may affect the risk of suffering from chronic pain.

It is previously known that breastfeeding works as pain relief in many situations for both mother and child.

Breastfeeding against e ndometry cancer

Research conducted in Australia also confirms that breastfeeding promotes maternal health. Breastfeeding acts as a pain reliever but not only that, it also reduces the risk of endometrial cancer.

According to a separate study conducted at the Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane Australia, breastfeeding for more than six months can reduce the risk of endometrial cancer.

Experts also analyzed studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Austria. There are many factors that affect the risk of this type of cancer.

Some factors are: age, ethnicity, education, use of oral contraceptives, menopause, when the most recent pregnancy was and their BMI.

The researchers observed that women who have breastfed their children have greater protection against this type of cancer.

According to the researchers, their studies do not show that women who do not breastfeed will develop this type of cancer.