Breast-feeding mums more likely to aggressively defend their baby than bottle milk users

Mothers who breast feed are more likely to act like “mama bears” – aggressively protecting their babies when threatened – than those who use bottles.

And they have lower blood pressures than other women when riled, which suggests feeding a child ­naturally may make them braver, researchers found.

Study author Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook said: “Breast-feeding mothers aren’t going to get into bar fights, but if someone is threatening them or their infant, they may be more likely to defend themselves in an aggressive manner.”

Three groups – 18 nursing mothers, 17 women who used formula milk and 20 non-mums – competed in tasks against an overtly rude researcher posing as one of them.

The nursing women were almost twice as aggressive than the bottle feeders, the University of California study found. It is published in Psychological Science journal.

Read the whole story: The Daily Mirror