Breastfeeding and diabetes

Both the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding have been reported to be negatively affected by maternal diabetes. Breastfeeding, however, is for both mother and baby important in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease with a subclinical prodrome during which β cell autoimmunity becomes overt. According to research this may start as early as during the first year of life. Infant feeding practices play a significant role, complex proteins being a risk-adding factor, human milk a risk-lowering one. Mothers with type 2 diabetes should be advised to exclusively breastfeed each child for at least one month. According to Schwarz et al this would increase their carbohydrate metabolism. Sorkio c.s. showed in their study that is not the diabetes per se that decreases incidence and duration of breastfeeding, but the accompanying complications like a higher incidence of preterm labour and caesarean sections and the statistically lower age and education of mothers with diabetes.

Sorkio S, Cuthbertson D, Bärlund S, Reunanen A, Nucci AM, Berseth CL, Koski K, Ormisson A, Savilahti E, Uusitalo U, Ludvigsson J, Becker DJ, Dupré J, Krischer JP, Knip M, Åkerblom HK, Virtanen SM (2010): Breastfeeding patterns of mothers with type 1 diabetes: results from an infant feeding trial. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 26:206–211.

Knip M, Virtanen SM, Åkerblom HK: Infant feeding and the risk of type 1 diabetes Am J Clin Nutr 2010 91:1506S-1513S.

Schwarz EB, Brown JS, Creasman JM, Stuebe A, McClure CK, Van Den Eeden SK, Thom D: Lactation and Maternal Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-based Study. The American journal of medicine 2010, 123(9):863.e1-863.e6.