title: Breastfeeding and pelvic girdle pain: a follow-up study of 10,603 women 18 months after delivery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the associations of patterns and duration of breastfeeding with the persistence of pelvic girdle pain 18 months after delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal population study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Norway, for the period 1999-2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  A follow-up of 10 603 women with singleton deliveries in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study who reported pelvic girdle pain at 0-3 months postpartum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained by four self-administered questionnaires and linked to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pelvic girdle pain, defined as combined anterior and bilateral posterior pelvic pain, 18 months after delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighteen months after delivery, 7.8% of respondents (829/10,603) reported pelvic girdle pain. Breastfeeding patterns at 5 months after delivery were not associated with persistence of pelvic girdle pain. The proportion of women with pelvic girdle pain 18 months after delivery increased as the duration of breastfeeding decreased (test for trend, P < 0.001). The estimated associations attenuated after adjustment for educational level, smoking status, and body mass index, but remained statistically significant for the association between 0 and 2 months of breastfeeding and persistent pelvic girdle pain (adjusted odds ratio 1.34; 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.75). The association of short breastfeeding duration with persistent pelvic girdle pain was only present in women with body mass index ≥25 kg/m(2) .
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Breastfeeding was associated with a small beneficial effect on the recovery process of pelvic girdle pain in women with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m(2) . Among women with pelvic girdle pain, breastfeeding should be encouraged in accordance with the existing child-feeding recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.|Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Bjelland
authors.affiliation: Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.|Norwegian Resource Centre for Women's Health, Division of Women and Children, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Owe
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stuge
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Resource Centre for Women's Health, Division of Women and Children, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway.|Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vangen
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.|Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eberhard-Gran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D059388:Pelvic Girdle Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Breastfeeding; lactation; pelvic girdle pain; prognosis; prognostic factors; the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study