It pays to breast-feed for women with gestational diabetes, as new research has found that it reduces their risk for type 2 diabetes.
In a study published on Nov. 23 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, it was found that women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who exclusively or mostly breast-fed for at least two months after giving birth – as well as those who continued to do so for a couple of months – slashed their chances of developing type 2 diabetes by half within two years.
"Both the level and duration of breast-feeding may offer unique benefits to women,” concluded lead author Dr. Erica Gunderson, also a senior research scientist at Kaiser Permanente.
Nearly 12 percent of the participants in the study developed type 2 diabetes within two years post-delivery. Women who exclusively formula-fed their infants from six to nine months were twice as likely to get diabetes as those who exclusively breast-fed.
GDM is high blood glucose during pregnancy, a condition diagnosed in 5 to 9 percent of all pregnant women in the United States or about 250,000 females every year. These patients are up to seven times more at risk for developing type 2 diabetes within a number of years following pregnancy.
The research enrolled over 1,000 Northern Californian Kaiser Permanente members diagnosed with gestational diabetes from 2008 to 2011. An estimated 75 percent of the cohort was identified as Hispanic, Asian or black.
The link between breast-feeding and lowered type 2 diabetes risk accounted for variables such as gestational weight gain, prenatal metabolism, birth outcomes, race and ethnicity and lifestyle.
Gunderson said their findings emphasized the need to prioritize breast-feeding support and education for GDM patients. “[It should be] part of early diabetes prevention efforts by health care systems,” she said.
These new findings add to existing evidence, said Camden-based pediatrician Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, in two crucial ways: it demonstrates the need to breast-feed not just in high-risk populations such as Native Americans, and shows why it pays to breast-feed exclusively.
"It really drives home the message that we have to support the exclusivity of breast-feeding,” she said, pointing out how moms and families should “avoid the temptation” of formula feeding when unnecessary.
GDM patients are sometimes confronted by lactation issues due to metabolic problems. This new study suggests getting the needed medical support to solve this difficulty.
According to the American Academy of Pediatricians, women should exclusively breast-feed for around six months and follow it up with breast-feeding plus complementary food feeding for a year or more.
Photo: Raphael Goetter | Flickr
