Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;14(1):19-22.
doi: 10.1177/1753495X19868864. Epub 2019 Oct 22.

The effect of breastfeeding on postpartum fructosamine and HbA1c values after normal pregnancy

Cynthia Kearse  1 , Michael P Carson  2 , Maureen Kane  1 , Rosemary Fitzgerald  1 , Patricia Ragone  1 , Lauren Plante  1
Affiliations

The effect of breastfeeding on postpartum fructosamine and HbA1c values after normal pregnancy

Cynthia Kearse et al. Obstet Med. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Breastfeeding can lower postpartum oral glucose tolerance test results by 5%. Similar data do not exist regarding fructosamine and HbA1c. The primary outcome was to determine if breastfeeding would lower fructosamine values by 5%.

Methods: At the 4-8 week postpartum visit, women with uncomplicated pregnancies were given a questionnaire and had blood drawn for fructosamine and HbA1c.

Results: Breastfeeding (n = 22) and non-breastfeeding women (n = 28) were demographically similar, including postpartum weight loss. The respective values among breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women were: fructosamine 2.20 versus 2.21 mmol/L; HbA1c 5.2% versus 5.2%. Only two of the seven women with an HbA1c of 5.7% or more had an abnormal fructosamine.

Conclusion: After uncomplicated pregnancies, breastfeeding was not associated with lower levels of postpartum fructosamine or HbA1c. Future research to improve screening for persistent postpartum dysglycemia in high-risk populations can utilize these tests without concern that results will be confounded by breastfeeding.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; HbA1c; fructosamine; gestational diabetes; lactation; postpartum.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Carson MP, Frank MI, Keely E. Original research: postpartum testing rates among women with a history of gestational diabetes – systematic review. Prim Care Diabetes 2013; 7: 177–186. - PubMed
    1. American Diabetes Association. 2. Classification and diagnosis of diabetes: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes – 2018. Diabetes Care 2018; 41: S13–S27. - PubMed
    1. Bennett WL, Ennen CS, Carrese JA, et al. Barriers to and facilitators of postpartum follow-up care in women with recent gestational diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study. J Womens Health 2011; 20: 239–245. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van Ryswyk EM, Middleton PF, Hague WM, et al. Women's views on postpartum testing for type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes: six month follow-up to the DIAMIND randomised controlled trial. Prim Care Diabetes 2016; 10: 91–102. - PubMed
    1. Werner EF, Has P, Kanno L, et al. Barriers to postpartum glucose testing in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Am J Perinatol. Epub ahead of print 2018. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources