Association between Breastfeeding and Prevalence of Diabetes in Korean Parous Women: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010–2014

The relationship between pregnancy count and duration of breast-feeding with metabolic syndrome (Fasa Persian cohort study)

BACKGROUND

Changes that occur during pregnancy and after that during breastfeeding induce some symptoms similar to metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors. This study aims to determine the relationship between pregnancy, as well as the duration of breastfeeding and MetS controlling the effect of other risk factors like hypertension, glucose intolerance, triglyceride, central obesity, and reduction of high-density lipoprotein in women of Fasa Persian Cohort Study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 5015 women aged 35-70 years were investigated in the Sheshdeh region from 2016 to 2021, and the information related to the disease symptoms was collected through questionnaires, examinations, and laboratory tests. MetS was calculated based on two guidelines according to adult treatment panel III (ATP III) and international diabetes federation (IDF) methods. For reporting the data, the odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used. In order to eliminate the effect of confounders, logistic regression was used.

RESULTS

Prevalence of MetS showed a descending trend in women with up to two pregnancies and it reached 22.6% and 22.4% using ATPIII and IDF methods respectively, while with an increase in the number of pregnancies of more than two, MetS prevalence was ascending. The prevalence of MetS did not have any specific trend across various breastfeeding duration groups. Multivariate analysis approved that the odds ratio of developing MetS in comparison with women who had two pregnancies was significantly increasing trend when the pregnancy counts increased.

CONCLUSION

The chance of developing MetS based on both IDF and ATP III methods after adjustment for confounding effects would grow with an increase in the number of pregnancies to more than two and breast-feeding of more than seven years. It is recommended that women with more than two pregnancies or the long duration of breast-feeding women undergo a specialized examination to investigate and control MetS problems so that future diseases could be prevented.

Knowledge Gaps and Current Evidence Regarding Breastfeeding Issues in Mothers with Chronic Diseases

The prevalence of chronic maternal disease is rising in the last decades in the developed world. Recent evidence indicated that the incidence of chronic maternal disease ranges from 10 to 30% of pregnancies worldwide. Several epidemiological studies in mothers with chronic diseases have mainly focused on the risk for adverse obstetric outcomes. Evidence from these studies supports a correlation between maternal chronic conditions and adverse perinatal outcomes, including increased risk for preeclampsia, cesarean section, preterm birth, and admission in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). However, there is a knowledge gap pertaining to the management of these women during lactation. This review aimed at summarizing the available research literature regarding breastfeeding in mothers with chronic diseases. Adjusted and evidence-based support may be required to promote breastfeeding in women with chronic diseases; however, our comprehension of breastfeeding in this subpopulation is still unclear. The literature related to breastfeeding extends in various scientific areas and multidisciplinary effort is necessary to compile an overview of current evidence and knowledge regarding breastfeeding issues in mothers with chronic diseases.

Development and validation of breastfeeding and dietary education package for women with gestational diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Recent findings show that a longer breastfeeding duration and proper dietary management could lower the risk of postnatal diabetes. An excellent and interactive education module on breastfeeding and diet may effectively improve breastfeeding practices and dietary knowledge among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Therefore, this study delves into developing and validating the content of Breastfeeding and Dietary Education Package (BFDEP) for women with GDM.

METHOD

The development of the module involved three phases: need assessment, module development, and validation. Six experts deployed a content validity index (CVI) to evaluate three areas of the module, including objectives, structure or presentation, and relevance. Sixteen women with GDM were involved in the face validation process by assessing the "literacy presentation," "illustrations," "material is sufficiently specific," and "quality of information."

RESULTS

Generally, I-CVI, S-CVI/Ave, and S-CVI/UA of the objectives, structure or presentation, and relevance revealed an excellent level of content validity. No alteration was needed for the domains of objective and relevance (S-CVI/Ave: 1.0, S-CVI/UA: 1.0). However, a minor revision was required in the structure or presentation domain (S-CVI/Ave: 0.98, S-CVI/UA: 0.90). The experts also thought that some module pages were wordy, and a change of font color was needed. The module was thus modified accordingly. For face validation, "literacy presentation" and "material is sufficiently specific" had a 99% positive response, while "illustrations" and "quality of information" had 100% positive feedback.

CONCLUSION

A BFDEP with excellent content validity was developed and can be implemented to improve breastfeeding practices and dietary knowledge among women with GDM.