Daughter Wants to Know if You Breast Fed Your Babies

Different Ballgame

I am the one with breast cancer. My daughter has breast fed all her babies (so far 4). She would like to know if you breast fed your babies. Theory is that if you breast feed, you are safe from breast cancer. I did not breast feed my babies. Look forward to your answer.
Janelle

2Floridiansisters

Yes
I breast fed 2 out of 3 of them.

Jean 0609

Yes, I did
I breast fed both of my sons.

Grandma X 6

YES
I also breast fed 2 out of 3 Children

fauxma

Grandma X 6 said:

YES
I also breast fed 2 out of 3 Children

Didn't breast fed my
Didn't breast fed my daughter.
Stef

MomMichelle

I breast fed both of my
I breast fed both of my children for a year each. I always thought that was the theory too.

aisling8

MomMichelle said:

I breast fed both of my
I breast fed both of my children for a year each. I always thought that was the theory too.

Yep
Breast fed all three sons six months each.

fauxma

aisling8 said:

Yep
Breast fed all three sons six months each.

What I read is that breast
What I read is that breast feeding may reduce the risk of breast cancer in premenapausal women particularly those that had their children after the age of 25. My daughter breast fed her son for 2 years and her daughter for over 1 year and was 29 when she had her first baby so I hope that there is some truth in this. There are many risks for breast cancer and yet there are those that don't fall into any of them and still get breast cancer. I guess the best we can tell our children and ourselves is to eat a balanced diet, keep our weight in control, exercise regularly, reduce our stress, get regular check ups, be alert to any changes in our bodies, get enough sleep, don't put bad things in our bodies and to laugh daily (it is the best medicine). It won't guarantee being cancer free but it will put them in good shape and if they have any health issues they will be in the best shape to fight whatever it is. Having said all that, I am the poster child for not following many of these (weight, exercise, healthy eating being my main badness) but I am working on improving these. And I do encourage my spouse, my child, her spouse and the grandchildren to learn from my mistakes. They are all much better at all of the above than I and for that I am thankful. Sorry for the ramble. I do that alot.
Stef

chenheart

This should be
This should be interesting...I never had children, so I can't answer the question, but I will find the answers fascinating. My mom did NOT breast feed any of us~ we were the first generation of baby-boomers~ I believe it was a sign of the new post WW11 affluence to be able to afford formula. Progress~ two steps forward, at least 3 back! LOL

Hugs,
Chen♥

Chickadee1955

fauxma said:

What I read is that breast
What I read is that breast feeding may reduce the risk of breast cancer in premenapausal women particularly those that had their children after the age of 25. My daughter breast fed her son for 2 years and her daughter for over 1 year and was 29 when she had her first baby so I hope that there is some truth in this. There are many risks for breast cancer and yet there are those that don't fall into any of them and still get breast cancer. I guess the best we can tell our children and ourselves is to eat a balanced diet, keep our weight in control, exercise regularly, reduce our stress, get regular check ups, be alert to any changes in our bodies, get enough sleep, don't put bad things in our bodies and to laugh daily (it is the best medicine). It won't guarantee being cancer free but it will put them in good shape and if they have any health issues they will be in the best shape to fight whatever it is. Having said all that, I am the poster child for not following many of these (weight, exercise, healthy eating being my main badness) but I am working on improving these. And I do encourage my spouse, my child, her spouse and the grandchildren to learn from my mistakes. They are all much better at all of the above than I and for that I am thankful. Sorry for the ramble. I do that alot.
Stef

I breastfed both my
I breastfed both my daughters; one for over a year, one for 6 months or so. I had my first child at age 27, second at 30.

Miss Murphy

chenheart said:

This should be
This should be interesting...I never had children, so I can't answer the question, but I will find the answers fascinating. My mom did NOT breast feed any of us~ we were the first generation of baby-boomers~ I believe it was a sign of the new post WW11 affluence to be able to afford formula. Progress~ two steps forward, at least 3 back! LOL

Hugs,
Chen♥

Yes!
I breast fed both my daughters for about a year each. My mother did not breast feed me as I guess she could afford formula!!!!! I had my first child at 26, the second at 29. I sometimes wonder where they come up with this stuff. According to what "studies" say helps prevent breast cancer - I shouldn't have gotten it in the first place!!!!

Hugs, Sally

Double Whammy

chenheart said:

This should be
This should be interesting...I never had children, so I can't answer the question, but I will find the answers fascinating. My mom did NOT breast feed any of us~ we were the first generation of baby-boomers~ I believe it was a sign of the new post WW11 affluence to be able to afford formula. Progress~ two steps forward, at least 3 back! LOL

Hugs,
Chen♥

Yep
I breastfed both of my children, but only for about 2 months. I was young (23 and 25) and naive.

Suzanne

Heatherbelle

Hi - I breastfed both of my
Hi - I breastfed both of my daughters. I had my first at age 26, and 2nd at age 32. 1st in my family diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34, and my mom was diagnosed 2 months after me this summer.
I think I can safely say the breastfeeding, having babies after age 25, and family history is nothing to bet the farm on! I do hope, though, that your daughter never has to worry about breast cancer!!
*hugs*
Heather

faith_trust_and_a_little_bit_of_chemotherapy

Heatherbelle said:

Hi - I breastfed both of my
Hi - I breastfed both of my daughters. I had my first at age 26, and 2nd at age 32. 1st in my family diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34, and my mom was diagnosed 2 months after me this summer.
I think I can safely say the breastfeeding, having babies after age 25, and family history is nothing to bet the farm on! I do hope, though, that your daughter never has to worry about breast cancer!!
*hugs*
Heather

I too, breastfed
as did three other survivors with whom I am personally acquainted...

I'm still trying to wrap my head around a former colleague that was breastfeeding her second child when what she thought was a blocked duct was actually cancer.

Bella Luna

Yes, I breast fed my
Yes, I breast fed my daughter for close to a year. I was 35 years old and she is now 10 years old. I remember several doctors asked if I had breastfed. It would be interesting to hear the findings on breastfeeding and cancer.
BL

linpsu

no
No, I did not breastfeed either of my children. I tried for one week, but it just didn't work out.

knitterjan

linpsu said:

no
No, I did not breastfeed either of my children. I tried for one week, but it just didn't work out.

Breast feeding
Yes, I breast fed my daughter for about 6 months and my son for a year. (He never would take a bottle.) Have had lumpectomies in both breasts followed by radiation. Now am Stage IV metastasized. According to my surgeon statistically this should not have happened.

SamuraiMom

yes
I breast fed both girls and had no family history...

xxoo,
SamuraiMom

Marcia527

No I didn't. I had the first
No I didn't. I had the first at 22 years old and the second at 27 years old. I think a lot of other factors have to be considered also.

LadyParvati

Breastfeeding and Breast Cancer
Hi, Janelle,

This is my area of research. While your daughter is correct that breastfeeding offers some protection against breast cancer (i.e., reduces the risk), fauxma has it correct that it primarily affects premenopausal breast cancers and is less protective in the postmenopausal years. In addition, many factors are involved in the development of breast cancer, and breastfeeding is only one of them. Being breastfed is another, and, as we all know, genetics is another. These are just a few of the primary factors involved.

I did breastfeed my three sons, for a total of 13 years. Obviously, breastfeeding did not make me "safe" from breast cancer.

I'm really glad to hear that your daughter has breastfed her babies, as breastfeeding has great value in many other ways besides protection against breast cancer. Artificial feeding is known to increase the risk of many childhood diseases, while breastfeeding confers protection against many childhood diseases; for several, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, and others, breastfeeding of at least one year offers protection into adulthood. So breastfeeding is no minor gift to one's child. Give your daughter an extra big hug for taking such wonderful care of your grandchildren the next time you see her!

Hugs to you, too! Sandy

carkris

Marcia527 said:

No I didn't. I had the first
No I didn't. I had the first at 22 years old and the second at 27 years old. I think a lot of other factors have to be considered also.

I breastfed one daughter for
I breastfed one daughter for 3 months, and one daughter for 8 months. I stopped breastfeeding after 8 months because I got diagnosed with breast cancer after feeling a lump while pumping. I had to wean her over a weekend to have furthur surgery. still makes me sad.