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  Newsmakers   ‘Breastfeeding protects moms against diabetes’

‘Breastfeeding protects moms against diabetes’

PTI
Published : Jul 22, 2016, 2:55 am IST
Updated : Jul 22, 2016, 2:55 am IST

Breastfeeding may be a cost-effective intervention aimed at reducing the long-term risk of developing Type-2 diabetes among women with gestational diabetes, scientists have found.

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Breastfeeding may be a cost-effective intervention aimed at reducing the long-term risk of developing Type-2 diabetes among women with gestational diabetes, scientists have found.

Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen in Germany studied the metabolism of women with gestational diabetes after giving birth. Along with partners at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), they were able to show that breastfeeding for more than three months brings about long-term metabolic changes.

Four per cent of all pregnant women in Germany develop gestational diabetes before the birth of their child, researchers said. Although their blood sugar levels initially return to normal after delivery, one in two of the mothers affected develops type 2 diabetes within the next ten years. While it has been shown that lactation can lower this risk by 40 per cent, the reasons for this are not yet understood.

In an earlier study, researchers led by Professor Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, director of the Institute of Diabetes Research at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, showed that breastfeeding for more than three months postpartum has a protective effect, which lasts for up to 15 years after gestational diabetes.

In the recent study, they examined whether the metabolism could be responsible for this.

Location: Germany, Berliini, Berlin