Editor’s Note: Dr. Holly Andersen is dual board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Sports Medicine and is an assistant professor of medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Andersen has been selected as one of America’s "Best Doctors" every year by Castle Connolly since 2001, and in 2008 was named by the Consumers’ Research Council of America as one of "America’s Top Cardiologists."

We have long heard the benefits of breast-feeding for our babies’ health, and more recent reports have shown that women who nurse have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Now there is news from the Women’s Health Initiative that breast-feeding your baby may reduce your cardiovascular risk as well.

The Women’s Health Initiative, established in 1991 and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, is the largest study of preventative health in women ever conducted in the United States. A new analysis of nearly 140,000 women enrolled in this trial and reported in this month’s issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women who breast-fed for at least a year (cumulative in their lifetime) were 10 to 15% less likely to have hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease than women who were pregnant but never breast-fed. Benefits were seen in women who breast-fed for a minimum total of six months, but the longer a woman breast-fed, the better. It is important to note that women who breast-fed did better than women who were pregnant and never breast-fed, not better than women who were never pregnant.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death for women in this country, and now worldwide. As the benefits of breast-feeding for both mother and baby continue to mount, we must continue to educate and support women in this choice. That being said, women who for one reason or another are unable to breast-feed should not be made to feel guilty. They should, however, be made aware that not breast-feeding is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease later in life, and they should be strongly encouraged to practice other preventative strategies throughout their life.