09/01/2026
🤱📃 Breastfeeding may lower a mother’s risk of depression and anxiety for up to 10 years after pregnancy, suggest the findings of UCD-led research.
Published in the medical journal BMJ Open, the study was led by Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe from the UCD School of Medicine.
The mental health and breastfeeding behaviour of 168 second-time mothers were tracked. These mothers were originally part of the ROLO Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study, conducted by the UCD Perinatal Research Centre at the National Maternity Hospital.
The women were recruited during early pregnancy, and they and their children had check-ups at three and six months, as well as at 2, 5, and 10 years after birth.
At each check-up, the mothers completed a detailed health history questionnaire, which asked whether they had been diagnosed with, and treated for, depression and or anxiety.
They also provided information on potentially influential factors, including diet and physical activity levels.
The mothers answered questions about whether they had ever breastfed or expressed milk for one day or more, as well as the total number of weeks of exclusive breastfeeding, the total number of weeks of any breastfeeding, and the cumulative periods of breastfeeding of less than 12 months and of 12 months or more.
Analysis of the data showed that women experiencing depression and anxiety 10 years after pregnancy were less likely to have breastfed, and had shorter durations of any or exclusive breastfeeding over their lifetime.
Each week of lifetime exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a 2% lower likelihood of reporting depression and anxiety.
The researchers said it is not clear if these lowered risks might persist beyond the 10-year postpartum period.
