Hello, my name is Amanda Skinner and I am a junior nursing student at the University of North Dakota. I am currently taking a childbearing class and through it I have developed an interest in different topics in breastfeeding. I am a huge advocate for breastfeeding because it has many benefits for baby, but I am wondering if breastfeeding can possibly prevent a baby from developing diabetes if they have a predisposition for the disease. According to Rodekamp et al. (2005), offspring of diabetic mothers are at an increased risk of being overweight and having an impaired glucose tolerance. In their study, they concluded that breastfeeding a baby in the late neonatal period showed no significant influence on whether the baby would become overweight or develop diabetes. Another study that was conducted weaned babies, with an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes, to hydrolyzed formula. The researchers wanted to study the effects of the intervention on the emergence of diabetes-associated antibodies in early childhood. Their observations excluded the possibility that a delayed exposure to cow’s milk proteins, those that are found in formula, would increase the risk of autoantibody development. In conclusion, they showed no evidence that breast milk prevents a child from getting type 1 diabetes. In addition, they showed no evidence that formula fed babies will develop type 1 diabetes just because they were not breast fed (Akerblom et al, 2005). Another study conducted by Sadauskaite-kuehne, Ludvigsson, Padaiga, Jasinskiene & Samuelsson (2004), found conflicting results. In this study they described that early weaning and an early introduction of cow’s milk or a breast milk substitute has been shown to increase the risk of type 1 diabetes of the baby later in life. With their research they discovered that the longer the baby is breastfed the more the baby is protected against type 1 diabetes. Does breastfeeding protect a baby from getting diabetes if he or she has a predisposition for the disease? If yes, then does a mother have to breastfeed for a longer length of time in order for her baby to get that protection? Thank you, Amanda Skinner, SN References Akerblom, H.K., Virtanen, S.M., Ilonen, J., Savilahti, E., Vaarala, O., Reunanen, A., Teramo, K., Hamalainen, A.M. & Paronen, J. (2005). Dietary manipulation of beta cell autoimmunity in infants at increased risk of type 1 diabetes: a pilot study. Diabetologia 48, 829-837 Rodenkamp, E., Harder, T., Kohlhoff, R., Franke, K., Dudenhausen, J.W. & Plagemann, A. (2005). Long-term impact of breast-feeding on body weight and glucose tolerance in children with diabetic mothers. Diabetes Care 28 (6), 1457-1462 Sadauskaite-Kuehne, V., Ludvigsson, J., Padaiga, Z., Jasinskiene, E. & Samuelsson, U. (2004). Longer breastfeeding is an independent protective factor against development of type 1 diabetes mellitus in childhood. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews 20, 150-157 *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html