There’s another potential benefit for mothers who choose to breastfeed their children. A new study suggests women who nurse are less likely to develop metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of health risk factors can cause diabetes and heart disease.

According to Reuters, researchers followed 700 women between the ages of 18 and 30 who did not have metabolic syndrome and had not yet had a child. Over the 20-year study period, they found that women who did not develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy and who breastfed for longer than a month were anywhere between 39 percent and 56 percent less likely to develop metabolic syndrome.

Among breastfeeding mothers who did develop gestational diabetes, breastfeeding for more than one month was linked to a 44 percent to 86 percent lower risk of metabolic syndrome.

Researchers say it is not clear why breastfeeding may have a protective effect against developing these heart disease and diabetes risk factors. However, they note that it may have positive effects on blood sugar levels, body fat mass or how fat is distributed throughout the body.

Additional health benefits for women who breastfeed include a reduced risk of developing certain cancers and osteoporosis as well as increased post-pregnancy weight loss.