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Breastfeeding Intentions and Practices among Women in the U.S. With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Author(s) -
Doughty Kimberly,
Reeves Katherine,
Ronnenberg Alayne,
Qian Jing,
Sibeko Lindiwe
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.581.9
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , gestational diabetes , medicine , obstetrics , confounding , pregnancy , demography , pediatrics , gestation , sociology , biology , genetics
Objective To compare breastfeeding intention and behaviors in women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a U.S. sample. Methods We used chi square tests to investigate the associations between GDM, intention to breastfeed exclusively, ever breastfeeding, and ever exclusively breastfeeding. To assess associations between GDM and duration of any breastfeeding, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and breastfeeding intensity, Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests were used. Further analysis using multivariable regression modeling with adjustment for potential confounders will be undertaken. Results Significantly fewer pregnant women with GDM planned to exclusively breastfeed their infants (49.7% vs. 57.9% in women without GDM, p=0.005). Compared with new mothers without GDM, fewer women with GDM pregnancies initiated breastfeeding (79.6% vs. 85.8%, p=0.02) and breastfed exclusively for any period of time (29.1% vs. 44.9%, p<0.001). Likewise, breastfeeding intensity in the infant's first 6 months of life was lower among women with GDM (p=0.02). GDM was significantly associated with duration of exclusive breastfeeding (p<0.001), but not duration of any breastfeeding (p=0.14). Conclusions Our findings suggest that pregnant women with GDM were less likely than their counterparts without GDM to intend to breastfeed exclusively. After delivery, these women were also less likely to initiate breastfeeding and to breastfeed exclusively for any length of time. We plan to explore the factors that mediate these relationships in subsequent analyses.