foodconsumer.org: Obese women less likely to breastfeed their babies

Obese women less likely to breastfeed their babies
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admin on 01/29/2010 17:31:00
 
Obese mothers are less likely to breastfeed their infants, a new survey study in
the Jan 2010 issue of the journal Obesity suggests.
The study analyzed data from 2,846 black women and 3,517 white women between
2000 and 2005 and found white women were more likely to breastfeed their babies
than black women, 67.2 percent versus 41.2 percent.
White women were also found more likely to breastfeed for longer periods than
black women, the study found.
The rate of breastfeeding was highest among those who had normal weight weight.
Among white women, as body mass index increased, the odds of beginning
breastfeeding decreased. But the association between the BMI and the odds of
breastfeeding was not significant among black women.
The very obese white women had the shortest breastfeeding periods whereas the
normal weight white mothers had the longest.
Breastfeeding is beneficial for both the infant and the mother even though
pollutants were found in mothers' milk.
In the U.S., physicians suggest mothers should breast feed babies for at least
one year or longer if either the mother or the baby so desires.
By Jimmy Downs