Parents 'spend more' quality time with children

Working parents perpetually agonize that they don't see enough of their children. But a surprising new study finds that mothers and fathers alike are doing a better job than they think, spending far more time with their families than did parents of earlier generations.

The study, by two economists at the University of California, San Diego, analyzes a dozen surveys of how Americans say they use their time, taken at different periods from 1965 to 2007. It reports that the amount of child care time spent by parents at all income levels - and especially those with a college education - has risen "dramatically" since the mid-1990s. (The findings by the husband-and-wife economist team of Garey Ramey and Valerie A. Ramey appear in a discussion paper presented in March at a Brookings Institution conference in Washington.)

Before 1995, mothers spent an average of about 12 hours a week attending to the needs of their children. By 2007, that number had risen to 21.2 hours a week for college-educated women and 15.9 hours for those with less education.

Although mothers still do most of the parenting, fathers also registered striking gains: to 9.6 hours a week for college-educated men, more than double the pre-1995 rate of 4.5 hours; and to 6.8 hours for other men, up from 3.7, according to an additional analysis by Betsey Stevenson and Dan Sacks, economists at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Family researchers say the news should offer relief to guilt-stricken working parents.

“Parents are feeling like they don’t have enough time with their children,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York, which conducts research on the work force. “It’s a function of people working so hard, and they are worried they’re shortchanging their children. I’ve never found a group of parents who believe they are spending enough time with their kids.”

Although previous studies have shown increases in parenting time starting in the 1990s, the study by the Rameys is important because it links so many time-use surveys and also breaks the data down by age of the child and education level.

The rise in child-centered time is just one of the ways the American family is changing. Couples are typically waiting longer to get married and begin having children. Divorce rates are dropping with each generation.

And notably, children are no longer so widely viewed as essential to a happy marriage. In 1990, 65 percent of Americans said that children were “very important” to a successful marriage, but by 2007, the number of adults who agreed with that statement had dropped to 41 percent, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

In fact, the surge in parenting time may say more about modern marriage than about modern child care practices, Dr. Stevenson said. She notes that among college-educated parents, two- to two-and-a-half hours of the increased time takes place when both parents are together. “Everybody gets in the car,” she said, “and mom and dad both cheer on the kid.”

That may reflect a rise in what Dr. Stevenson calls the “hedonic marriage,” in which couples share home and work responsibilities so they can spend more time together.

By contrast, couples from earlier generations typically had “specialized” roles that tended to keep them apart — the husband working at a job to support the family, the wife staying home to raise the children.

“We’re seeing a rise in marriages where we’re picking people we like to do activities with,” Dr. Stevenson said. “So it’s not surprising we’re going to see that some of the activities we want do together involve our children.”

So where is the extra time coming from? Women, in particular, are spending less time cooking and cleaning their homes, while men are putting in fewer hours at the office. A 2007 report in The Quarterly Journal of Economics showed that leisure time among men and women surged four to eight hours a week from 1965 to 2003.

Notably, the data in the Ramey study do not count the hours mothers and fathers spend “around” their children — at the dinner table, for example, or in solitary play. Instead, the survey tracks specific activities in which the parent is directly involved in the child’s care.

“It’s taking them to school, helping with homework, bathing them, playing catch with them in the back yard,” said a co-author of the leisure-time paper, Erik Hurst, an economist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “Those are the activities that have increased over the last 15 to 20 years.”

Dr. Galinsky notes that although working parents typically feel guilty for not spending more time at home, children often have a different reaction. In a landmark study published as “Ask the Children” (Harper, 2000), she asked more than 1,000 children about their “one wish” for their parents. Although parents expected their children would wish for more family time, the children wanted something different.

“Kids were more likely to wish that their parents were less tired and less stressed,” Dr. Galinsky said.

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Free Webinar on Cesarean Recovery

Isa Herrera is leading an upcoming webinar on Cesarean Recovery and Scar Care in the Postpartum Period. This webinar is geared toward new moms and healthcare professionals who are looking to learn techniques to get relief from scar pain and restore the abdominal muscles after a cesarean.

Being hosted by ICAN - The International Cesarean Awareness Network - and led by Isa Herrera, MSPT, with tools taken from her new book, "Ending Female Pain: A Woman's Manual," this webinar will teach you to:

• Understand how to locate scar adhesions and why they are important to eliminate
• Learn mobilization and massage techniques for after cesareans
• Restore abdominal function after cesarean with safe exercises
• Learn the connection between Diastasis Recti, low back pain and pelvic pain
• Learn yoga stretches for indirect scar mobilization during the post-partum period

Date: Sunday April 11, 2010

Time: 7:00 pm EST/4:00pm PST - for times in other time zones visit: http://ican-online.org/webinars/cesarean-scar-care

Register: Free for ICAN members, or $15 for non-members. ICEA hours/certificate available.

To register go to: http://ican-online.org/webinars/cesarean-scar-care

Birth Rates Rise Among Women Over 40

While birth rates in 2008 dropped among women in their teens, twenties, and thirties, the 40-to-44 age bracket saw a 4 percent increase in birth rate, according to a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Birth rates increased for mothers over 45 as well, with the number of births among these women increasing by 4 percent in the past year. What's more, women over 40 were also more likely to be first-time mothers than in past years, the report found. "This increase is part of a general trend that we've seen over the past few decades," says Brady Hamilton, lead author on the study and researcher for the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. "A rise in reproductive technology gives women more options and more women are choosing to postpone childbirth or have a second or third child later in life," he says.
This doesn't mean it's easy to conceive in mid-life, however, warns Dr. Marjorie Greenfield, author of "The Working Woman Pregnancy Book" and director of general obstetrics and gynecology at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
"Statistics like this encourage putting off pregnancy even more. It gives women the illusion that the biological clock doesn't really start ticking until later," she says, "but most births over 45 are from egg donors. The chance of getting pregnant without assisted reproductive therapy after age 40 is only 10 percent," she says.
"Assisted reproduction therapy and fertility treatments are feeding this trend," says Dr. Richard Paulson, chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology at the University of Southern California, "but it would be hard to tell how many people are actively waiting to have children [because they can use this technology] and how many are older women wanting to have children that now can because of an increasing social acceptance of being an older mother and this technology."
"There are a variety of things about our society that push both men and women to delay childbearing -- professional achievement, becoming financially secure, what-have-you," says Paulson.
"What ART has done for women is to increase reproductive options and level the playing field a bit. That doesn't mean you should wait until 50 to be a mom, but if your life plays out in such a way that motherhood at an advanced age makes sense, it's nice to know that that option now exists."
It's important to know, however, that this option can also come at a price.
By postponing pregnancy until middle age, women are at greater risk for gestational and birth complications that can affect both mother and child, notes Greenfield.
"By the time you're in your forties, you're more likely to go into the pregnancy with medical problems such as diabetes or hypertension, which can complicate the pregnancy. You are also at higher risk for getting gestational diabetes or hypertension during your pregnancy," she says.
Risk of genetic conditions like Down syndrome increase throughout the forties as well, but the most common issue women face when they try to conceive later -- one they often aren't expecting -- is miscarriage and infertility.
ART can help battle dwindling fertility but the therapy doesn't always work and can itself complicate pregnancies because it makes women more likely to have multiple births.
"Twins confer more risks to pregnancy than any other thing we think of as high risk factors," Greenfield says, "and that's just twins, not triplets or other multiple births."
"Women's lives are complicated, and for some women it's just not feasible to have their children in their early thirties, when fertility is higher," Greenfield says.
Women are taking better care of themselves -- "Forty today doesn't look the same as 40 twenty years ago," she adds, "but that doesn't have anything to do with fertility."
Being young for your age "may affect how active you can be as a parent, but it doesn't help your fertility."
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Diablo Cody announces pregnancy

"Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody has confirmed reports she's expecting her first child.

Cody, who won an Oscar for writing the 2007 comedy about a pregnant teen, has taken to her Twitter account to announce the happy news, which follows reports she had secretly married her boyfriend.

She writes, "Thanks for the congrats on my fetus. No secrets here; just thought it would be fun to see how big I could get before someone noticed."

The mom-to-be has not yet confirmed the identity of her partner, the baby's father.

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The Strokes' Julian Casablancas Welcomes a Son

The Strokes' frontman Julian Casablancas and wife, former manager Juliet have reportedly become first time parents. The couple, who have been married since 2005 welcomed a son named Cal in early March, and the new dad said of the addition to the family, "I don't know if it's totally sunk in yet. It's been wonderful. He's so laid back."

Casablancas, who is currently touring to support his new solo album 'Phrazes For The Young,' recently shared that he was 'mentally' prepared for the baby's arrival though his wife took care of the details, saying, "I haven't done too much. My woman has done all the hard stuff. We have clothes that people have given us. We have a crib ready... birth is a beautiful thing."

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Brett Favre Becomes a Grandfather!

If Brett Favre returns for a 20th NFL season, you can call him "Grandpa" and not be making fun of his age.

Favre's 21-year-old daughter Brittany gave birth to a son Tuesday, according to multiple media reports, making the 40-year-old Minnesota Vikings quarterback a grandfather.

Favre was 19 when he and girlfriend Deanna had Brittany in 1989. The couple was married in 1996 and had another child, Breleigh, in 1999.

Favre led the Vikings to the NFC championship game last season and has not yet decided whether or not he intends to return in 2010. He will turn 41 in October.

The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder first reported that Favre was about to be a grandfather. ESPN said later it had confirmed the news through Favre.

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Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath is Going to be a Dad

Big congratulations to Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath, who has announced that not only is he engaged to his longtime love Carin Kingsland, but they're expecting twins!

The expectant father gushes that he's "so excited" for the birth of the babies - one girl and one boy - who were conceived via in vitro fertilization. He won't have long to wait: Carin, 37, is due next month!

"I love them already, but I need them to come out so I can really shower them with love," Mark, 42, tells People. "I can't wait to meet them."

Like many first time parents, he admits that he and Carin are also nervous about what lies ahead.

"My DNA paranoia is kicking in: I've got to feed these children. We've got to get the nursery together. And what do you do when you bring the kids home?" he asks. "Most parents are like, 'Oh, the wonders of child rearing.' But we're freaking out! The first year is going to be gnarly."

As they prepare for their new arrivals, the couple is also busy planning a wedding.

"We love the idea of getting married on 10/10/10," Mark muses. "But the twins might have another idea."

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Drinking during pregnancy 'could increase epilepsy risk'

Women who drink during pregnancy could be increasing the risk of their child developing epilepsy, a study has indicated.

The research found that children who suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) - a condition caused by maternal drinking during pregnancy - were six times more likely to suffer from epilepsy as they grew older.

They were also more likely to suffer at least one seizure at some point in their lives.

Previous research has indicated a connection between drinking during pregnancy and rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and even Parkinson's and stroke.

Neuroscientists said the latest study added to growing understanding about the risks posed to unborn babies by mothers' alcohol consumption, but added that it was difficult to establish a causal link between drinking and epilepsy.

Dan Savage, Regents' Professor at the University of New Mexico's Department of Neurosciences said: "This report builds on a growing body of evidence that maternal drinking during pregnancy may put a child at greater risk for an even wider variety of neurologic and behavioral health problems than we had appreciated before.

"The consensus recommendation of scientists and clinical investigators, along with public health officials around the world, is very clear a woman should abstain from drinking during pregnancy as part of an overall program of good prenatal care that includes good nutrition, adequate exercise, sufficient rest, and proper prenatal health care."

Researchers examined the histories of 425 individuals from two FASD clinics, looking for a correlation between suspected risk factors including exposure to alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, and occurrences of epilepsy and seizures.

James Reynolds of the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, who contributed to the study, said: "While this report supports a growing impression that fetal alcohol exposure may predispose the immature brain to the development of epilepsy, the results do not establish a direct cause-effect relationship between FASD and epilepsy.

"Establishing a direct link between these clinical conditions will be a difficult challenge given our incomplete understanding of how ethanol damages the developing brain and what neuropathological changes in brain tissue lead to the development of different types of epilepsy."

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Better Birth Weight for Babies of Exercisers

Regular exercise during pregnancy doesn't change a mother's body weight but does lead to a small reduction in the baby's weight, a new study shows.

The findings are important because larger birth size is associated with higher risk for childhood obesity.

In a randomized trial of 84 first-time mothers, participants were assigned to either an exercise or a control group. Exercisers rode stationary bikes for 40 minutes, five days a week, while the other women just maintained their regular activity. The women began exercising in the 20th week of pregnancy and continued until at least week 36.

The exercise didn’t make any difference in the mother’s weight compared to mothers who weren’t exercising. But among mothers who didn’t exercise, their babies were an average of five ounces heavier than babies born to women who exercised during pregnancy. There also was no difference in the average length of the babies, according to the study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The study shows that moderate, regular aerobic exercise can have a meaningful effect on a baby’s birth weight without putting the pregnancy or child at risk.

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Study: Breastfeeding would save lives, money

The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women breastfed their babies for the first six months of life, a cost analysis says.

Those startling results, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, are only an estimate. But several experts who reviewed the analysis said the methods and conclusions seem sound.

"The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference," said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics' breast-feeding section.

The findings suggest that there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.

The magnitude of health benefits linked to breast-feeding is vastly under-appreciated, said lead author Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Breast-feeding is sometimes considered a lifestyle choice, but Bartick calls it a public health issue.

Among the benefits: Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make breast-fed babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.

The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, costs of treating those diseases, including hospitalization, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.

The $13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economists' calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages - $10.56 million per death.

About 43 percent of U.S. mothers do at least some breast-feeding for six months, but only 12 percent follow government guidelines recommending that babies receive only breast milk for six months.

Dr. Larry Gray, a University of Chicago pediatrician, called the analysis compelling and said it's reasonable to strive for 90 percent compliance.

But he also said mothers who don't breast-feed for six months shouldn't be blamed or made to feel guilty, because their jobs and other demands often make it impossible to do so.

"We'd all love as pediatricians to be able to carry this information into the boardrooms by saying we all gain by small changes at the workplace" that encourage breast-feeding, Gray said.

Bartick said there are some encouraging signs. The government's new health care overhaul requires large employers to provide private places for working mothers to pump breast milk. And under a provision enacted April 1 by the Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting agency, hospitals may be evaluated on their efforts to ensure that newborns are fed only breast milk before they're sent home.

The pediatrics academy says babies should be given a chance to start breast-feeding immediately after birth. Bartick said that often doesn't happen, and at many hospitals newborns are offered formula even when their mothers intend to breast-feed.

"Hospital practices need to change to be more in line with evidence-based care," Bartick said. "We really shouldn't be blaming mothers for this."

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Incontinence during pregnancy ups risk of it later

A new study confirms that women who have incontinence during pregnancy are more likely than other women to have the problem after giving birth as well. The good news, researchers say, is that there are ways for women to reduce their risk.

In a study of more than 1,100 first-time mothers, Spanish researchers found that 39 percent reported urinary incontinence, or urine leakage, at some point during pregnancy. Another 10 percent said they had anal incontinence, which included uncontrolled passage of gas or stool.

These women were more likely than those without incontinence during pregnancy to have symptoms seven weeks after giving birth.

Overall, 16 percent of women in the study had urinary incontinence seven weeks after giving birth, while 7 percent had anal incontinence.

The risks for women who'd had those problems during pregnancy were three and six times greater, respectively, compared with women who had remained continent during pregnancy.

The study, reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, also confirmed that vaginal childbirth carries greater risks compared with cesarean section. Women who had a vaginal delivery were three times more likely than those who had a C-section to have urinary or anal incontinence after childbirth.

Of 692 women who had a vaginal delivery and responded to questionnaires seven weeks after childbirth, 139 reported symptoms of urinary incontinence and 57 reported anal incontinence.

They also highlight potential ways to reduce the risk.

For example, studies have tied excess weight gain to an increased risk of incontinence during pregnancy. (In this study, it was linked to anal incontinence only.) So gaining only the recommended number of pregnancy pounds may help prevent incontinence both during and after pregnancy.

In addition, exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, known as Kegel exercises, have been shown to lower the risk of pregnancy-related incontinence.

In cases where a woman already has risk factors for post-childbirth incontinence -- such as being older than 35 or having a family history of incontinence -- doctors might want to avoid using forceps or other instruments during vaginal delivery, or doing an episiotomy -- an incision made to enlarge the vaginal opening during delivery.

Past studies have linked instrument-assisted deliveries, particularly in conjunction with episiotomy, to an increased risk of incontinence.

Because the current study followed-up with women only seven weeks after they gave birth, it is unclear how many women had long-term symptoms. Past research has suggested that for most women, incontinence goes away within a few months of giving birth, though for some it may become a persistent problem.

Treatments for persistent incontinence include Kegel exercises, behavioral changes (like scheduled bathroom trips), medications and, in more severe cases, surgery.

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Crying "Single Lady" Kid on The Early Show

If you haven't seen the new viral family video that's been making it's rounds, here it is for your Friday enjoyment. Plus, a plug for adoption.

The Science of Mother-Baby Bonding

You take your baby to the pediatrician for her regular check-ups, vaccines, and at the first sign of a fever. You keep her away from runny-nose friends and steer clear of the sun. You babyproof your home and gently bandage her boo-boos. All to make sure your child grows up healthy and strong. But compelling new research is showing that the strength of your emotional bond with your baby may well trump all of those other measures you take to help her thrive.

A close attachment can prevent diseases, boost immunity, and enhance IQ in your baby, says Deepak Chopra, M.D., the endocrinologist turned mind-body -- medicine guru, Parenting contributing editor, and coauthor of Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Those hugs and kisses are a force of nature more powerful than ever thought, says Dr. Chopra. Mother-child bonding has evolved to become a complex physiological process that enlists not just our hearts, but our brains, hormones, nerves, and almost every part of our bodies.

There are decades of evidence to back up Dr. Chopra's claims. In one study from Ohio State University, rabbits that were cuddled by researchers were protected against the artery-clogging effects of a high-cholesterol diet. The love and attention affected the rabbits' hormone levels, the study authors concluded, helping them withstand heart disease. Researchers at McGill University in Montreal found that some female rats took more time and care to lick their infant pups than others; the pups that were licked frequently grew up to be less stressed and more adventurous in temperament, while pups that weren't groomed as much exhibited nervous, stressed-out behavior. And yet another study, published in Pediatrics, found that premature babies who were stroked gained nearly 50 percent more weight than those who were not. Such skin-to-skin contact (known as kangaroo care) has been shown to have other health benefits for preemies, too.

It's well known that the nipple stimulation that occurs when a baby nurses causes a hormone called oxytocin to be released in the mom, which in turn triggers milk let-down. But oxytocin is also called the "love hormone" because it's produced during orgasm and other affectionate moments. In fact, oxytocin behaves in the brain much the same way that morphine does; it turns on our "reward" center, easing pain, making us feel good, and causing us to crave that emotional high again and again. Women who don't breastfeed, or choose to eventually switch to or supplement with formula, happily do not miss out on the "love drug." Simply gazing into your baby's eyes while bottle-feeding or just snuggling or massaging also unleashes the feel-good hormones in both of you.

There's more evidence that we're hardwired to connect with our kids: Pheromones -- the chemicals we secrete to attract a partner -- are also secreted by our babies, ensuring that we're similarly smitten with them. In one study, 90 percent of moms were able to identify their newborns by scent alone after having spent as little as ten minutes with them. When the moms spent an hour with their babies, 100 percent of them correctly distinguished their own baby's smell from the smell of other infants.

A baby recognizes his mother's scent, too. Last year, researchers in Japan found that infants who smelled their own mother's milk while undergoing a routine heel-stick procedure exhibited fewer signs of distress than babies who were exposed to the odor of another mother's milk, formula, or nothing at all. The mere scent of their mother's breast milk was enough to calm the newborns and ease pain. Here's an interesting aside: The act of kissing may have evolved as an affectionate gesture because it puts our nose in direct contact with the base of our partner's nostrils, where pheromones are generated.

Just as scent motivates you to care for your child and motivates your child to stay close to you, so too does a smile. In a recent study conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, brain MRIs were taken of women while they looked at photos of their own children and of other kids making sad, happy, and neutral faces. The scans found that when a woman saw a photo of her own child, the parts of her brain associated with rewards processing (meaning they make you feel good!) were activated, and even more so when she saw photos of her child smiling. It's all very primitive: Mom make Baby smile, Mom get reward, Mom want to make Baby smile again.

So ignore your e-mails and forget about the laundry. Don't stress about vacuuming or entertaining guests. Let bonding with your baby become your priority. Lie around with her, doing nothing. Cuddle. Play. Dr. Chopra believes in "nourishing all of your baby's senses" by holding her, massaging her, singing to her, using soothing scents (lavender, rose, vanilla), and showing her colorful, interesting shapes and objects. Remind yourself that you're building a connection that will comfort both of you for years and years. And when you need a break, take one.

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Free folic acid at Kmart pharmacies

In an effort to promote healthy pregnancies, Kmart is offering a free one-month supply of folic acid supplements to its pharmacy customers through May 1.

The offer is limited to prescription-strength doses of folic acid, a B vitamin that helps prevent serious birth defects when taken before and during pregnancy.

Customers who have a valid prescription can get a free bottle of supplements at any Kmart pharmacy. A list of locations is available at www.kmart.com/pharmacy.

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Breastfeeding Reduces Risk of Diabetes in Mothers

Research has found a new benefit that mothers can obtain by breastfeeding - decreased risk of type 2 diabetes.

In a recent study conducted on more than 53,000 women age 45 and older, the odds of having diabetes were similar for women with children and those who had remained childless. But among women with children, each year of breastfeeding was associated with a 14 percent reduction in diabetes risk.

The researchers then considered the importance of other factors that could affect a woman's likelihood of breastfeeding and/or developing diabetes -- including age, weight, family history of diabetes, reported exercise habits and education and income levels. Breastfeeding itself remained linked to the odds of having diabetes, according to the study.

According to the manager of the Association, Kate Mortensen only 65% mothers are breastfeeding when their baby is 3 months old and the figures drop to 40% by the time the baby reaches the half year mark. She says mothers need more support and encouragement to breast feed longer.

"Mothers still choose to breastfeed, it's just that they are not seemingly able to keep it going, and so we need skilled lactation support for problems that they face….They need good maternity leave so they know they do have a period where they can be at home with their babies and establish lactation. They need good community support and we need more knowledge about breastfeeding out there."

Perception of low milk supply is common among mothers and one of the major reasons why they supplement with formula feeds she says.

"Overall, from my 20 years of counseling mothers, it seems that mothers don't realize there is not this deep community understanding that a breastfed baby needs to be fed anywhere between eight and 12 times in 24 hours - so that means you are feeding a baby quite often….There is still this old-fashioned idea that a mother should feed a baby three to four hourly at evenly spaced times throughout the day, which is totally unrealistic. The normal baby will have lots of frequent feeds and their feeding patterns change as they get older."

"There is research around lactation helping to reduce the weight that you keep from pregnancy. It also affects where your weight is lost from….You're in a different metabolic state while you're breastfeeding. You have a reduced reaction to stress and you have a lowered blood pressure…The research on weight loss because of lactation is quite mixed but overall it does seem to have a beneficial effect on mothers' weight loss - breastfeeding does use calories, but it also affects your metabolism. You require less insulin while you're breastfeeding, so it affects your metabolism at a quite a deep level."

There have been earlier reports that breast feeding may decrease the risk of getting type 2 diabetes later in life. But according to lead researcher Dr. Bette Liu, of the University of Western Sydney, the difference between those studies and this new research is the inclusion of women who have never given birth compared to those who had children but did not breast feed. This latter group had a 50% higher risk of getting diabetes she said.

"In other words," Liu said, "it appears that having children increases the chances of women developing type 2 diabetes in later life, but breastfeeding can reduce this risk to the same level as that of women who have never had children."

She went on to say that the exact reason why breastfeeding might affect a woman's later risk of type 2 diabetes is not clear but it can be speculated that the hormonal changes that come with breastfeeding may have lasting effects on how a woman's body processes blood sugar.

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