Duration of lactation and maternal metabolism at 3 years postpartum.
OBJECTIVE
Lactation has been associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome in mothers. We examined the relation between breastfeeding duration and metabolic markers at 3 years postpartum.


METHODS
We used linear regression to relate duration of lactation to maternal glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammatory markers, and anthropometry at 3 years postpartum among 570 participants with 3-year blood samples (175 fasting) in Project Viva, a cohort study of mothers and children.


RESULTS
Among the participants, 88% had initiated breastfeeding, and 26% had breastfed >or=12 months. In multivariate analyses, we observed no consistent trends relating duration of lactation to maternal metabolism at 3 years postpartum. Women who exclusively breastfed for >6 months had lower postpartum weight retention at 3 years than women with shorter durations of exclusive breastfeeding (multivariate adjusted predicted mean -0.5, -3.6-2.6 kg vs. 4.8, 2.0-7.6 kg for those who never exclusively breastfed, partial F p = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
In this prospective cohort study, we did not observe a dose-response relationship between duration of lactation and metabolic risk at 3 years postpartum.
Stuebe
Alison M
AM
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. astuebe@med.unc.edu
Kleinman
Ken
K
Gillman
Matthew W
MW
Rifas-Shiman
Sheryl L
SL
Gunderson
Erica P
EP
Rich-Edwards
Janet
J
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D007774:Lactation / Q000378:metabolism*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008055:Lipids; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human
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