The health benefits of
breastfeeding for mothers and babies are widely known —
studies have shown it may improve cognitive development among
children and could reduce a woman's risk of getting breast
cancer or cardiovascular disease. But new research suggests
that very obese woman may not breast feed as much or for as
long as their normal-weight counterparts.
The study, released in the January issue of
the journal Obesity, looked at information about 3,517 white
women and 2,846 black women who were part of the Pregnancy
Risk Assessment Monitoring System from 2000 to 2005.
Among the participants, 7.1 percent of the
white women and 5.3 percent of the black women were
underweight; 53.8 percent of the white women and 39.5 percent
of the black women were normal weight; 20.9 percent of the
white women and 28.3 percent of the black women were
overweight; 10.5 percent of the white women and 15.6 percent
of the black women were obese; and 7.7 percent of the white
women and 11.3 percent of the black women were very obese.
Overall, a greater number of white women
(67.2 percent) than black women (41.2 percent) initiated
breastfeeding, and white women breastfed for longer periods
compared to black women. Among white women, breastfeeding was
highest among those who were normal weight and went down as
their pre-pregnancy body mass indexes rose, with very obese
white women having lower odds of beginning breastfeeding than
normal-weight white women. Among black women BMI was not a
factor in beginning to breastfeed.
BMI was also relevant in breastfeeding
duration. Very obese white women had on average the shortest
period of breastfeeding while normal-weight white women had
the longest. Among white women the odds of breastfeeding at 10
weeks decreased as their BMIs increased.
The authors point to other studies that show
overweight and obese women may have a harder time
breastfeeding than women of normal weight and they urge that
overweight and obese women as well as black women may need
more guidance to start breastfeeding.
