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Gestational Diabetes and Variety in the Composition of Breast Milk

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Breastfeeding and Metabolic Programming

Abstract

Diabetes commonly occurs in pregnant women and may cause a number of complications both for the mother and the child, including in the neonatal period. The effects that abnormal maternal metabolism may have on the newborn and infant in terms of nutrition supplied and effects on metabolic programming are important subjects for research since it is already known that individuals born to women with either gestational or pre-existing diabetes mellitus (DM) are at raised risk of developing type 2 diabetes eventually, albeit epidemiological data also demonstrate that being breastfed in infancy protects in the longer term against both becoming obese and suffering from type 2 DM. Since maternal and neonatal metabolic abnormalities are so strongly associated, an understanding of how DM affects the composition of breast milk is especially valuable, particularly given the fact that breast milk is the medium through which protective benefit is conferred on neonates [1–3].

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Şahin, Ö.N., Di Renzo, G.C. (2023). Gestational Diabetes and Variety in the Composition of Breast Milk. In: Şahin, Ö.N., Briana, D.D., Di Renzo, G.C. (eds) Breastfeeding and Metabolic Programming. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33278-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33278-4_17

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