This article on the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine blog explores the research that has been done on breastfeeding and PPD…
Does breastfeeding prevent postpartum depression?
It would be great if the answer were an unequivocal “Yes!” Postpartum depression, or PPD, is one of the most common complication of childbirth, affecting about 1 in 10 new moms, with devastating consequences.
A number of researchers have reported less depression among moms who are breastfeeding, compared with moms who are bottle-feeding. These findings have even led one team of scientists to put forward a theory that bottle-feeding mothers experience grief from not breastfeeding that’s similar to mothers who have had a stillbirth.
It’s a compelling theory, but it rests on tenuous evidence…