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Lactation and Diabetes Among Women with a History of GDM Pregnancy

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Gestational Diabetes During and After Pregnancy

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Abstract

Lactating women exhibit more favorable cardiometabolic profiles than non-lactating women, yet lasting effects on future disease risk remain unclear. Among women in general, lactation may protect against development of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in midlife. However, studies of lactation and metabolic disease after pregnancy among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are limited by reliance on self-report of type 2 diabetes or variable time intervals for screening after GDM pregnancy. Among the offspring, consensus expert panels have concluded that breastfeeding reduces the risk of overweight by 22% to 24% among children and adolescents in developed countries. Yet, breastfeeding may not have similar effects on the offspring of women with GDM during pregnancy. Studies of breastfeeding and future diabetes in the offspring have mostly involved heterogeneous samples that combined offspring of mothers who had GDM and mothers who had pre-gestational diabetes. Given that lactation and breastfeeding promote lasting health benefits among women and children in the general population, further research targeting women with a history of GDM and their offspring is recommended.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by Career Development Award, Grant number K01 DK059944 from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, R01 HD050625 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and a Clinical Research Award from the American Diabetes Association.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Research, Epidemiology and Prevention Section, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA

    Erica P. Gunderson

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  1. Erica P. Gunderson
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Correspondence to Erica P. Gunderson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Catherine Kim

  2. Kaiser Permanente, Division of Research Clinics Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California, USA

    Assiamira Ferrara

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Gunderson, E.P. (2010). Lactation and Diabetes Among Women with a History of GDM Pregnancy. In: Kim, C., Ferrara, A. (eds) Gestational Diabetes During and After Pregnancy. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-120-0_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-120-0_22

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