Endocrine Abstracts

Background: According to several previous studies, breastfeeding offers mothers an opportunity to lose weight and improve their metabolic profiles. The aim of the present study was to investigate weight variation in a population of postpartum diabetic women.

Methods: We conducted a prospective descriptive study in pregnant women treated for pregestational diabetes and followed at the Department of Nutritional Diseases «D» of the National Institute of Nutrition of Tunis. Women’s weight was monitored during pregnancy and two months postpartum. A dietary survey was carried out by the department’s dietician. Women who had an abortion or had been lost to follow-up were excluded from the study.

Results: We collected 51 diabetic patients with a mean age of 35.4±4 years [ext:23-44]. Most patients had type 2 diabetes (80%). Before pregnancy, the average body mass index (BMI) was 28.3±4.7 kg/m²;. Pre-pregnancy obesity and pre-obesity affected 26% and 48% of the population, respectively. The average weight gain during pregnancy was 9.6±3.5 kg [ext:5-20]. This weight gain was 27.7±3.6 kg/m²; for exclusive breastfeeding, 28±5.2 kg/m²; for partial breastfeeding and 30.9±6.6 kg/m²; for formula feeding. We noted that weight loss was correlated with breastfeeding pattern (P=0.015). When asked about their knowledge of the nutritional needs of breastfeeding women, 48% of patients had no idea of the nutritional requirements of breastfeeding women. By analyzing patients’ dietary intake, women who exclusively breastfed their babies had a more high-calorie energy intake (63% of cases) than women who did not breastfed (38% of cases) or who partially breastfed (2% of cases) their babies (P<0.001). In addition, all patients were not physically active during pregnancy or after childbirth.

Conclusion: We can conclude that breastfeeding is associated with weight loss, but this remains modest in our sedentary diabetic patients. Nutrition education is the cornerstone of care for postpartum patients.