Childbirth, breastfeeding, and suicide risk in women: A 12-year national cohort study

To examine the long-term risk of childbirth and breastfeeding on suicide in women.

The data from the National Health Insurance Sharing Service database and linked data from Statistics Korea were used. In total, 2,357,914 women aged ≥30 years were eligible for this study. The number of childbirths and the duration of breastfeeding were categorized, and the subsequent incidence of suicide death was followed up.

The mean age of participants was 53.8 years (SD, 11.5 years). During an average follow-up period of 12.1 years (SD, 1.5 years), 4493 died by suicide. The risk of suicide was reduced in those who had given childbirth compared to those who had never given childbirth (aHR, 0.67; 95 % CI, 0.57 to 0.79). The risk was lower among those with ≥2 childbirths than among those with only one childbirth. The risk of suicide was lower in those who had breastfed compared to those who had never breastfed (aHR, 0.86; 95 % CI, 0.77 to 0.95).

Childbirth and breastfeeding were associated with a decreased risk of suicide. In addition, the risk showed a pattern of decreasing with increasing number of childbirths and the duration of breastfeeding.