Breastfeeding duration and maternal weight change through adulthood in a population-based cohort study

Weight retention postpartum can increase long-term risk of maternal overweight and obesity. In theory, breastfeeding may facilitate postpartum weight loss, but its association with maternal weight change, especially long-term, remains uncertain.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and maternal weight change through adulthood emphasizing possible variations based on early adulthood BMI and the time of childbirth during the 1940s through the 1990s.

Women (n = 172,472) in the Norwegian Women and Health Study, born 1927 to 1965, completed ≤3 questionnaires (Q1-Q3) between 1991 and 2014. A linear mixed model was applied to assess the association between BMI change from age 18 y in relation to mean breastfeeding duration per child (0, >0 to <3, 3 to <6, 6 to <9, 9 to <12, 12 to <15, ≥15 mo), including a 3-way interaction with categories of BMI at age 18 y and time period of first birth.

We found a significant interaction between breastfeeding duration per child, BMI at age 18 y, and year of first birth in relation to BMI change from age 18 y. Longer breastfeeding duration per child was associated with a lower increase in BMI among both mothers who either had overweight or obesity or had normal weight at age 18 y (P-trend < 0.001), irrespective of time of first birth. Among mothers with overweight or obesity at age 18 y who had their first child ≥1980, breastfeeding for ≥3 mo per child was significantly associated with lower increase in BMI from age 18 y, ranging from -1.26 kg/m² [95% confidence interval (CI): -2.19, -0.32] to -2.11 kg/m² (95% CI: -2.93, -1.30), compared with >0 to <3 mo.

We found a significant association between longer breastfeeding duration per child and lower maternal weight gain through adulthood, which was particularly pronounced among mothers with overweight or obesity at age 18 y and among mothers who had their first child ≥1980.