I think of breastfeeding as lowering the risk (a bit) by reducing the number of ovulatory cycles. Fewer surges of estrogen and progesterone slamming the breast each month translate to a very small reduction in breast cancer risk. In addition, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, you shed breast tissue. The shedding may remove cells with potential DNA damage, thus helping to drop your chances of developing breast cancer.

Thank you, Kathy, for reading the piece.