Breastfeeding & Weight Gain
Weight Gain & Breastfeeding Study
Aim
To examine the relation of parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI),
and exclusive breastfeeding to weight gain.
Weight Gain & Breastfeeding Study
Method
The cohort of the Nurse's Health Study II, with analysis restricted to
women who were aged 24 to 40 y at baseline (1989), who had a history of
no more than one past full-term pregnancy at baseline, gave birth to one
child between 1990 and 1991, but had no other pregnancies during the follow-up.
Weight Gain & Breastfeeding Study
Subjects
1538 of the 33 082 nulliparous women and 2810 of the 20 261 primiparous,
in 1989.
Weight Gain & Breastfeeding Study
Measurements
Introduction of daily formula/milk was assumed to represent the end of
exclusive breastfeeding period. Duration of exclusive breastfeeding was
categorized into 0, 1-3, 4-7, 8-11, and 12 months or more.
Weight Gain & Breastfeeding Study
Results
After adjusting for age, physical activity, and BMI in 1989, lactation
was associated with a weight gain from 1989 to 1993 of approximately 1
kg (statistically significant only for women nulliparous in 1989 with
a BMI <25 kg/m2 and for those women primiparous in 1989, with a BMI
25 kg/m2) comparing women who breastfed with women who did not, and duration
of lactation was unrelated to the magnitude of weight change.
Weight Gain & Breastfeeding Study
Conclusion
Although promotion of breastfeeding has high priority because of its enormous
advantages for a newborn child, the associated maternal weight reduction
is minimal. Dietary guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women should
include ways to prevent weight retention after parity.
Source: International Journal of Obesity
(2003)
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