Diabetes During Pregnancy Associated With Increased Risk of Low Milk Supply

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

A new study shows that women with diabetes during pregnancy face a significantly higher risk of having a low milk supply.

The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center study, published online in Breastfeeding Medicine, adds to evidence that maternal glucose intolerance may impede lactation. Although insulin resistance is common among obese women, and obesity is a risk factor for poor lactation outcomes, the study is believed to be the first to examine maternal diabetes as a risk factor for low milk supply.

“This study shows the importance of further research to determine how maternal glucose intolerance may impede lactation, so that targeted therapies may be developed to increase milk supply,” says Sarah Riddle, MD, a pediatrician in the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s and the study’s lead author. “There are limited evidence-based strategies for helping mothers to increase milk supply, and low milk supply is often cited as the reason for new mothers to stop breastfeeding earlier than planned.”

The study was conducted using existing electronic medical records of 641 women who made first visits to the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine between June 1, 2011, and May 31, 2013. All women were no more than 90 days postpartum and highly motivated to breastfeed.

Mothers with a diagnosis of low milk supply but no other lactation problems, such as latching onto the breast, were compared to mothers with lactation problems but without low milk supply. Nearly 15 percent of those in the first group had a history of diabetes during pregnancy, while just over 6 percent with lactation problems but not low milk supply had maternal diabetes.

The study was funded by a grant to senior author Laurie Nommsen-Rivers, PhD, a scientist in the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, from the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health (5 K12 HD0511953).

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Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center ranks third in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S.News and World Report’s 2015 Best Children’s Hospitals. It is also ranked in the top 10 for all 10 pediatric specialties, including a #1 ranking in pulmonology and #2 in cancer and in nephrology. Cincinnati Children’s, a non-profit organization, is one of the top three recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health, and a research and teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine. The medical center is internationally recognized for improving child health and transforming delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org. Connect on the Cincinnati Children’s blog, via Facebook and on Twitter.