The Surprising Health Benefits of Having a Baby

Did you know that there are health benefits associated with having a baby? Pregnancy and childbirth is a mixed bundle of joy and challenges for nine months. You can expect to experience back pain, swollen legs, heartburn, stretch marks, morning sickness, and fatigue. However, it is not all bad news, while your body may experience something completely foreign, the changes that come with childbirth also produce some surprising health benefits.

Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer

Getting pregnant and breastfeeding has a direct impact on the cells in your breasts. It makes them mature and produces milk. Breast cells which have not gone through this transformation are more susceptible to cancer.

Once you are pregnant and breastfeeding, your period stops. During menstruation, your ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone, hormones which stimulate and increase the growth of breast cancer.

Getting pregnant means that your lifetime exposure to these hormones is reduced lowering your risk of getting breast cancer. While you are breastfeeding, your breast cells experience changes such that they are not likely to develop malignancies and transform into cancer cells later in life.