The Nation - News from Aug. 20, 1987

Women who breast-feed their babies reduce significantly their chances of getting breast and ovarian cancers, researchers said. In a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers said they analyzed data from a 1982 national Centers for Disease Control study on cancer risk and birth control pills in making the discovery. Previous research has established that having children reduces a woman’s chance of breast and ovarian cancers, but the study is the first of its size to indicate breast-feeding also plays a role in cancer prevention.