Breastfeeding Linked to Lower Odds of Depression, Anxiety

FRIDAY, Jan. 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Breastfeeding seems to be associated with a lower risk for depression and anxiety in women of later reproductive age, according to a study published online Jan. 8 in BMJ Open.

Catherine McNestry, M.D., from the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, and colleagues conducted a 10-year prospective longitudinal cohort study to examine the association between breastfeeding and depression and anxiety in women aged mid-30s to menopause. Participants included 168 parous women with lifetime breastfeeding behavior and health history data available at 10 years.

Overall, 122 women (72.6 percent) reported ever breastfeeding. The researchers found that the median lifetime exclusive breastfeeding duration was 5.5 weeks; over their lifetime, 37.5 percent of women breastfed for ≥12 months. A total of 13.1 and 20.8 percent reported depression or anxiety at 10 years and during the whole study period, respectively. There was an association seen for ever breastfeeding with less depression and anxiety at 10 years (odds ratio, 0.34). During the whole study period, lower rates of depression and anxiety were seen in association with ever breastfeeding (odds ratio, 0.40), longer exclusive breastfeeding (odds ratio, 0.98/week), and lifetime breastfeeding ≥12 months (odds ratio, 0.38).

“This association, previously unreported in this age group, only strengthens the recommendation that breastfeeding is the optimal infant feeding method, for both mother and baby,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text