Breastfeeding practices among childhood cancer survivors

ConclusionsSurvivors are at risk of negative breastfeeding experiences; however, lactation outcomes were not significantly associated with cancer diagnosis, treatments, or endocrine complications.Implications for cancer survivorsPrior research has not examined the association of cancer treatments and clinically validated late effects with lactation outcomes in a clinically diverse childhood cancer survivor cohort. Findings from this study suggest that childhood cancer survivors, especially those who are overweight/obese, are at risk of having negative breastfeeding experiences. Early undesired weaning, physiologic problems related to lactation and misconceptions about breastfeeding, especially fears of passing on cancer through breastmilk, highlight the need for counseling and specialized support to optimize lactation outcomes in this vulnerable population.
Source: Journal of Cancer Survivorship - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research