Breastfeeding appears to protect mothers against diabetes.
Research from the University of Pittsburgh finds mothers who did not breastfeed were nearly twice as likely to develop type-2 diabetes than women who had breastfed or never had children. Mothers who did breastfeed all their children were no likelier to become diabetics than women who never gave birth.
The disparities remained after controlling for age, race, physical activity and tobacco and alcohol use.
The study, published in the September American Journal of Medicine, covered 2,233 women aged 40 and 78. Fifty-six percent of mothers reported having breastfed an infant for at least one month, while 27% percent of mothers who did not breastfeed went on to developed type 2 diabetes.
Breastfeeding’s beneficial impact results from its ability to decrease maternal belly fat, said Pitt professor Eleanor Bimla Schwarz in announcing the results.
“Our study provides another good reason to encourage women to breastfeed their infants, at least for the infant’s first month of life,” she said. “Clinicians need to consider women’s pregnancy and lactation history when advising women about their risk for developing type 2 diabetes.”
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