As authorities and practitioners all over the world are starting to promote breast-feeding all over again, a new study has proved that the practice is good for the mother, in addition to the baby. A research by Kaiser Permanente has revealed the women who breast feed their kids significantly lower their risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors linked directly to diabetes as well as cardiovascular diseases.

The long the women involved in the study breast fed their children, the lower was the risk.

For the sake of study, data collected for as many as 704 women, who were followed for about 20 years starting from prior to their first pregnancy, was analyzed. While none of the women had metabolic syndrome when enrolled, about 120 developed it in some 20 years.

Careful analysis of the data collected over the years led the researchers to believe that breastfeeding for over 9 months is linked to a 56% reduced risk of developing metabolic syndrome. In women who developed diabetes during one or more pregnancies, the risk reduction was noted to be 86%.

"Our study is the first to examine lactation and metabolic syndrome in women with this risk factor. Our findings indicate that this very vulnerable group may benefit from breastfeeding", shared the study leader Dr. Erica P. Gunderson.

The study will be published in the February 2010 issue of Diabetes, a renowned journal. It was funded by the National Institutes of Health.