Research has found a new benefit that mothers can obtain by breast feeding – decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. Benefits of breastfeeding for the baby have been cited for a long time now. In spite of this knowledge according to The Australian Breastfeeding Association there is a definite gap in awareness regarding health benefits that this simple yet effective practice can offer.
In a recent study conducted on more than 53,000 women age 45 and older, the odds of having diabetes were similar for women with children and those who had remained childless. But among women with children, each year of breastfeeding was associated with a 14 percent reduction in diabetes risk.
The researchers then considered the importance of other factors that could affect a woman's likelihood of breastfeeding and/or developing diabetes -- including age, weight, family history of diabetes, reported exercise habits and education and income levels. Breastfeeding itself remained linked to the odds of having diabetes, according to the study.
According to the manager of the Association, Kate Mortensen only 65% mothers are breastfeeding when their baby is 3 months old and the figures drop to 40% by the time the baby reaches the half year mark. She says mothers need more support and encouragement to breast feed longer.
"Mothers still choose to breastfeed, it's just that they are not seemingly able to keep it going, and so we need skilled lactation support for problems that they face….They need good maternity leave so they know they do have a period where they can be at home with their babies and establish lactation. They need good community support and we need more knowledge about breastfeeding out there."
Perception of low milk supply is common among mothers and one of the major reasons why they supplement with formula feeds she says.
"Overall, from my 20 years of counselling mothers, it seems that mothers don't realise there is not this deep community understanding that a breastfed baby needs to be fed anywhere between eight and 12 times in 24 hours - so that means you are feeding a baby quite often….There is still this old-fashioned idea that a mother should feed a baby three to four hourly at evenly spaced times throughout the day, which is totally unrealistic. The normal baby will have lots of frequent feeds and their feeding patterns change as they get older."
In the recent dietary guidelines of Australia (2003), at least 80% breast feeding mothers at six months is a tangible goal to achieve.
"But we haven't even reached 80 per cent at three months," Ms Mortensen said.
She says breast feeding has more benefits than just weight loss.
"There is research around lactation helping to reduce the weight that you keep from pregnancy. It also affects where your weight is lost from….You're in a different metabolic state while you're breastfeeding. You have a reduced reaction to stress and you have a lowered blood pressure…The research on weight loss because of lactation is quite mixed but overall it does seem to have a beneficial effect on mothers' weight loss - breastfeeding does use calories, but it also affects your metabolism. You require less insulin while you're breastfeeding, so it affects your metabolism at a quite a deep level."
There have been earlier reports that breast feeding may decrease the risk of getting type 2 diabetes later in life. But according to lead researcher Dr. Bette Liu, of the University of Western Sydney, the difference between those studies and this new research is the inclusion of women who have never given birth compared to those who had children but did not breast feed. This latter group had a 50% higher risk of getting diabetes she said.
"In other words," Liu said, "it appears that having children increases the chances of women developing type 2 diabetes in later life, but breastfeeding can reduce this risk to the same level as that of women who have never had children."
She went on to say that the exact reason why breastfeeding might affect a woman's later risk of type 2 diabetes is not clear but it can be speculated that the hormonal changes that come with breastfeeding may have lasting effects on how a woman's body processes blood sugar.
"I would say to women considering breastfeeding that there are benefits not only for the health of their babies but also for their own longer-term health," she signs off.
Last year the Federal Government has come up with a National Breastfeeding Strategy for 2010 to 2015. This strategy needs to be adequately supported according to the association in order to achieve maximum health benefits to the population.
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