From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Thu Jul 22 2004 - 10:06:07 PDT
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From: cunews_at_cornell.edu<mailto:cunews_at_cornell.edu>
To: CUNEWS-HEALTH-L_at_cornell.edu<mailto:CUNEWS-HEALTH-L_at_cornell.edu> ; CUNEWS-SCIENCE-L_at_cornell.edu<mailto:CUNEWS-SCIENCE-L_at_cornell.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 12:02 PM
Subject: Cornell News: obese women and breast-feeding
Cornell and Bassett Hospital researchers discover biological reason
for obese mothers abandoning breast-feeding early
FOR RELEASE: July 22, 2004
Contact: Susan S. Lang
Office: 607-255-3613
E-mail: SSL4_at_cornell.edu<mailto:SSL4_at_cornell.edu>
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Studies have shown that overweight and obese mothers
are significantly more likely to quit breast-feeding their infants
sooner than do healthy-weight mothers. An important reason why is the
weaker biological response that heavier women have to their babies'
suckling, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cornell
University and Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y.
"We found that overweight and obese women have a lower prolactin
response to suckling," says Kathleen Rasmussen, professor of
nutritional sciences at Cornell and the lead researcher of the study,
which is published in the journal Pediatrics (Vol. 113, No. 5, May
2004). Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that
stimulates the mammary glands to produce milk soon after birth.
"This lower prolactin response to suckling would be expected to
compromise the ability of overweight and obese women to produce milk
and, over time, lead to a significantly shorter period of
breast-feeding," she adds.
Rasmussen and her co-author, Chris L. Kjolhede of Bassett Hospital,
measured concentrations of prolactin and progesterone in 40 mothers
just before and 30 minutes after breast-feeding, at 48 hours after
delivery and again a week after birth. Some of the women were
overweight or clinically obese with a body mass index (BMI) -- a
calculation based on the relationship of weight to height -- of at
least 26 before conception. Some were not overweight.
The researchers found that the overweight and obese women produced
dramatically less prolactin 48 hours after birth and moderately less
seven days after birth compared with the women who were not
overweight. They found no significant differences in progesterone
values. Progesterone helps maintain pregnancy and helps trigger milk
production as soon as its levels fall after giving birth. Since fat
tissue concentrates progesterone, the researchers had hypothesized
that this additional source of progesterone in overweight women might
delay milk production. However, the study did not support this
hypothesis.Rasmussen says that although obese women might have
trouble breast-feeding for a combination of physical reasons, the new
study is the first to find a biological reason.
In 1997 Rasmussen reported that overweight and obese mothers were 2.5
to 3.6 times, respectively, less successful in starting
breast-feeding than mothers who were not overweight, and the heavier
the mother, the less successful she was at breast-feeding. In 2001
Rasmussen reported that normal-weight women who gain more than the 24
to 35 pounds during pregnancy recommended by the Institute of
Medicine are 74 percent more likely to be unsuccessful at
breast-feeding than mothers who observe these guidelines. However,
women who are obese before pregnancy do not further increase their
already high risk of lactation failure, regardless of their weight
gain after conception.
Whether and how long mothers breast-feed is important because breast
milk can protect children from a variety of childhood illnesses, says
Rasmussen, and the benefits increase with longer durations of
nursing. Breast-feeding, for example, can boost infants' immune
systems and provide protection against numerous diseases, such as
some cancers, bowel disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,
allergies, asthma and eczema. Breast-fed infants also grow faster and
have a lower risk of obesity as adults. Some research even indicates
that breast-feeding leads to optimal brain development. The United
States public health goals, spelled out in the publication Healthy
People 2010, call for 75 percent of the nation's new mothers to start
breast-feeding, 50 percent to continue for six months and 25 percent
for 12 months.
"We're a long way from those goals nationally. At the present time,
64 percent of women breast-feed right after pregnancy, but only 29
percent continue for at least six months," Rasmussen says.
"Although women should begin pregnancy at a healthy weight and gain
reasonably during pregnancy, not all will," says Rasmussen.
Overweight and obese women who give birth should consult with a
lactation expert, she advises, to be sure they receive adequate
breast-feeding education before being discharged from the hospital.
Ideally, she says, they also should receive follow-up support to help
them continue to breast-feed.
Related World Wide Web sites: The following sites provide
additional information on this
news release. Some might not be part of the Cornell University
community, and Cornell has no
control over their content or availability.
o For an electronic copy of the paper
<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/5/e465 o Kathleen Rasmussen
<http://www.human.cornell.edu/faculty/facultybio.cfm?netid=kmr5&facs=1 -30-
The web version of this release may be found at
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