PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Effects of breastfeeding on postpartum weight change in Japanese women: The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS).

  • Masafumi Yamamoto,
  • Mio Takami,
  • Toshihiro Misumi,
  • Chihiro Kawakami,
  • Etsuko Miyagi,
  • Shuichi Ito,
  • Shigeru Aoki,
  • Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS) Group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268046
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 5
p. e0268046

Abstract

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AimThe aim of this study was to examine the relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum maternal weight change.MethodThis study used data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS), an ongoing nationwide birth cohort study. Participants were categorized into two groups: full breastfeeding (FB) and non-full breastfeeding (NFB) groups. Postpartum weight changes between the FB (n = 26,340) and NFB (n = 38,129) groups were compared.ResultsAt 6 months postpartum, mean weight retention was significantly lower in the FB group than in the NFB group (0.2 vs 0.8 kg, respectively, pConclusionBreastfeeding reduced maternal weight retention, which was greater in mothers who were obese before pregnancy. For obese women, active breastfeeding may improve their health.