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Thousands of women might be spared the agony of breast cancer if they
extended the period for which they suckle their babies. Research
published on Friday suggests that for every year of her life spent
breastfeeding, a woman's risk of the disease drops by 4.3% This is on
top of the 7% reduction she enjoys for every baby to which she gives
birth.
If women in the UK breastfed on average for an extra six months
each, 1,000 cases of breast cancer - and hundreds of deaths - would be
prevented each year. However, experts say that too few women in this
country are breastfeeding their babies - partly because too little
support is available to help them start. Belinda Phipps, the chief
executive of the National Childbirth Trust, said:
"Currently,
only one in five UK mothers are still breastfeeding after six months -
we know that many give up before they want to. It is clear that
UK women are still not getting the information and support they need
to breastfeed their babies. We need to see a real shift away
from the current bottle-feeding culture in the UK to one where
breastfeeding is completely accepted."
Developing World
The latest study was carried out by analysts at Cancer Research UK,
who pooled data from dozens of different studies into the benefits of
breastfeeding. Differences in childbearing and breastfeeding habits
could partly explain why rates of breast cancer are so low in the
developing world.
On average women in the developing world breastfeed for
approximately two years, and have six or seven children, as opposed to
two months per child and two or three children in the UK. Professor
Valerie Beral said: "It's long been known that breast cancer is
common in situations where women have few children and breastfeed for
short periods.
"We've shown that these factors alone account for much of the
high rates of breast cancer in these settings."
Common cancer
Fellow researcher Dr Gillian Reeves said: "Even if women in
the West were to breastfeed each of their children for an extra six
months, this could prevent 5% of breast cancers each year."
Breast cancer is now the most common cancer in women - there are well
over 30,000 cases each year, and mortality is approximately a third. A
spokesman for Breakthrough Breast Cancer said:
"This study has
indicated a relationship between breastfeeding and a lower risk of
cancer -but more research is necessary to clearly establish a causal
link."
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_2136000/2136824.stm
Just last week, the geniuses at Oxford University in England
prescribed that:
A) Breast-Feeding (for the full term) is one of the leading
deterrents of Cancer of the Breast. Further, they mentioned that cases
of breast cancer are almost unheard of in countries were
breast-feeding is common-place.
B) Having more than two children is another deterrent for breast
cancer and other related female-specific cancers. Their study compares
the new movement in the western world of having little or no offspring
as opposed to eastern (Muslim) societies that have many children. The
overall finding of the university is that those mothers who have more
than two children and breast-feed for the full term have only a slight
chance of contracting the disease. On the other hand, a recent study
estimated that one in four N. American Women will contract Cancer at
some stage of their lives by 2010.
Compare, what Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
1. Al-Buqara (The Cow)
And the mothers should suckle their children for two whole years
for him who desires to make complete the time of suckling; and their
maintenance and their clothing must be borne by the father according
to usage; no soul shall have imposed upon it a duty but to the extent
of its capacity; neither shall a mother be made to suffer harm on
account of her child, nor a father on account of his child, and a
similar duty (devolves) on the (father's) heir, but if both desire
weaning by mutual consent and counsel, there is no blame on them, and
if you wish to engage a wet-nurse for your children, there is no blame
on you so long as you pay what you promised for according to usage;
and be careful of (your duty to) Allah and know that Allah sees what
you do. (2:233)
2. Al-Ahqaf (The Wind- Curved Sandhills, The Dunes)
And We have enjoined on man doing of good to his parents; with
trouble did his mother bear him and with trouble did she bring him
forth; and the bearing of him and the weaning of him was thirty
months; until when he attains his maturity and reaches forty years, he
says: My Lord! grant me that I may give thanks for Thy favour which
Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good
which pleases Thee and do good to me in respect of my offspring;
surely I turn to Thee, and surely I am of those who submit. (46:15)
3. Luqman
And We have enjoined man in respect of his parents his mother
bears him with faintings upon faintings and his weaning takes two
years saying: Be grateful to Me and to both your parents; to Me is the
eventual coming. (31:14)
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