Photo courtesy of Karen Barefoot

Nearly 140,000 post-menopausal women were studied in the Women’s Health Initiative. According to the Vancouver Sun (via One Small Step for Breastfeeding…), the study revealed breastfeeding’s heart health benefits on three levels:

1. Risk Factors. Women who breastfed their babies had lower incidence of the following three risk factors for heart disease: diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

2. Cardiovascular Disease. Women who had never breastfed were significantly more likely to develop heart disease than women who breastfed for seven months or more.

3. Heart Attack and Stroke. Women who breastfed for a cumulative 12 months or more in their lifetimes had a 10% lower incidence of heart attack, stroke, or heart disease later in life.

Researcher Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD told WebMD:

The longer women nursed babies, the less likely they were to develop diabetes, heart disease, or stroke. Any breastfeeding was good, but more was better.

The complete study appears in the May 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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What are they you ask? Let me give you a few…

1. Babies that are breastfed have a reduced risk for developing diabetes later on in life.

2. Prolonging the introduction of cow’s milk in genetically at risk babies may also give them a “leg up.”

3. Moms who are insulin dependent will most likely use less insulin while breastfeeding and it is absolutely compatible and safe in conjunction with breast milk. The insulin molecule is very large and does not pass through to the breast milk.

Now, there are some considerations that go along with breastfeeding while diabetic. For one, you are at risk for developing skin infections and mastitis. Newborn jaundice is also more common in breastfed babies, but that is easily treated. And I absolutely advise any diabetic mother to coordinate her breastfeeding efforts with her OB/Gyn, PCP and endocrinologist. Medications, hormone levels and blood sugars need to be closely monitored.

But by all means… go ahead and put that baby to breast. Living with a chronic disease like diabetes should not inhibit you from enjoying all that comes with “mommyhood”!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

The Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) followed 15,253 boys and girls, showing that children who had been breastfed were 34 percent less likely to become obese, regardless of whether the mother was overweight or had diabetes.

When the researchers took into account factors such as daily food intake and weekly hours spent watching television and being physically active, breastfed children were 15 percent less likely to be overweight.

With childhood obesity on the rise, and the fact that obesity is linked to diabetes, breastfeeding offers a powerful advantage in reducing a child’s risk of both obesity and diabetes:

One recent analysis of 17 studies found that every month of breastfeeding reduced the risk of childhood overweight by 4%. Babies breastfed for nine months had a 31% overall reduction in risk.

Mothers with diabetes can find more information at Kellymom’s page on Breastfeeding and Maternal Diabetes. For information on breastfeeding and specific diabetic medications see Dr. Hale’s Breastfeeding and Medications Forum.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3