Article Summary
Breastfeeding and maternal health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Chowdhury R, Sinha B, Sankar MJ, Taneja S, Bhandari N, Rollins N, Bahl R, Martines J. Breastfeeding and maternal health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Paediatr. 2015 Dec;104(467):96-113. doi: 10.1111/apa.13102. PMID: 26172878; PMCID: PMC4670483.
In addition to providing essential nutrients to infants, benefits of breastfeeding for both children and their mothers have been reported. Reported benefits for mothers who breastfed their infants include increased postpartum uterine activity (inferentially this would lead to reduced postpartum blood loss), greater weight loss postpartum compared with mothers who bottle-fed their infants, decreased incidence of premenopausal breast cancer and decreased incidence of ovarian cancer.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of breastfeeding on long-term (breast carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes mellitus) and short-term (lactational amenorrhoea, postpartum depression, postpartum weight change) maternal health outcomes.
A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library and CABI databases. All observational studies, randomized controlled trials, which examined the impact of duration and type of breastfeeding on maternal health outcomes are selected. After analysis, This study point out that breastfeeding is protective against breast and ovarian carcinoma, and exclusive breastfeeding and predominant breastfeeding increase the duration of lactational amenorrhoea. There is evidence that breastfeeding reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, an association between breastfeeding and bone mineral density or maternal depression or postpartum weight change was not evident.
In conclusion, Breastfeeding is associated with improved health outcomes for mothers. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life with introduction of complementary foods at six months and continued breastfeeding through the infant’s first year of life and beyond as mutually desired. Therefore, as a provider, we are encouraged to initiate education on the benefits and management of breastfeeding from the first prenatal appointment and continue throughout pregnancy. Prescriptions for breast pumps and training in usage can be provided to women planning to return to work.
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