Breastfeeding, especially right after childbirth, helps your baby establish a healthy gut and improves early immune system performance, but did you know that it can also protect the mother, too? The idea that breastfeeding can help protect the mother from breast cancer has been supported by new research presented in the Journal “Nature” that shows breastfeeding also causes a long-term immune response that protects mothers well beyond the early years of motherhood. Researchers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia suggest that the immune system activates a long-term defense response in the breast during lactation. This information enhances what we already understand about the lasting strength of maternal biology. Dr. Sherene Loi at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia analyzed breast tissue samples from 260 women between the ages of 20 and 70. Researchers discovered that women who had breastfed had significantly higher levels of specialized immune cells known as CD8+ T cells. According to an article recently published in the magazine “Motherly”, these cells patrol breast tissue like guards, ready to recognize and attack abnormal cells that could turn malignant. Some of these cells were found to persist in breast tissue for up to 50 years. Other recent research published in the journal “Cancer Medicine” suggests that breastfeeding is linked to a 4.3% lower risk of breast cancer for every year of nursing. The study in nursing offers a better understanding showing that stimulating the production of specialized immune cells, breastfeeding may leave behind an immune imprint that continues to identify and respond to abnormal changes. Scientists think these immune cells originally form to help prevent infections such as mastitis, but they may also help patrol for early cancer cells later in life. Read the article published in “Motherly” below New research reveals a hidden way breastfeeding may protect moms for decades