Breastfeeding alone without using formula may prevent MS relapses

It's well established that women with MS who become pregnant often have fewer relapses while they are pregnant, but are at a higher risk of relapse after giving birth. A few studies have looked at whether breastfeeding can affect relapse rate also, with mixed results, but none of them have asked whether breastfeeding only (no formula) makes a difference. Recently a research team followed 32 women with MS who had given birth, collecting information about whether they breastfed and if so, for how long and whether they also supplemented with formula. They found that only 36% of those who breastfed exclusively for at least two months had a relapse in the year after childbirth, compared with 87% of those who didn't breastfeed or combined it with bottle feeding during those first two months. The results were similar after adjusting for factors such as disease severity and pre-pregnancy relapse rate which may affect whether women with MS choose to breastfeed or not. Exclusive breastfeeding also delayed resumption of menstrual cycles, so perhaps hormonal levels underlie the link found between breastfeeding and reduced relapse rate. Those women who supplemented breastfeeding with bottle feeding resumed their menstrual cycles sooner than those who only breastfed.

Women with MS sometimes choose not to breastfeed for very long or at all because they want to resume taking their MS medications. However, these results (while based on small numbers and therefore needing to be confirmed) suggest that they might be better off breastfeeding instead and holding off on MS therapies for a while longer.

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