Breastfeeding and Type II Diabetes

Breastfeeding may lower a woman's lifetime risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The Los Angeles Times (8/27, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that, according to a study published in the Sept. issue of the American Journal of Medicine, "breastfeeding a newborn for even one month will lower a woman's lifetime risk of developing type 2 diabetes." After examining "data from 2,233 women in California's Kaiser Permanente healthcare system," researchers discovered that "27% of the mothers who did not breastfeed developed type 2 diabetes." What's more, "these women were almost twice as likely to develop the disease, compared with women who had breastfed or who had never given birth."
The study authors speculated that "breastfeeding helps moms lose the abdominal fat they gain during pregnancy more efficiently," Time (8/27, Park) reported. "While abdominal -- or visceral -- fat is important for the gestating baby's development, it can be detrimental to a mother's health if it continues to build after delivery, since it's been linked to greater risk of metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and heart disease as well as diabetes."
According to MedPage Today (8/27, Fiore), lactation also "suppresses gonadotropin levels and has been associated with lower and slower responses to growth hormone."
WebMD (8/27, Doheny), and the Orlando Sentinel (827, Shrieves) "Vital Signs" blog also covered the story.
America's 2009 birth rate hits historical low. The Washington Post /AP (8/28, Marchione) reported that data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reveal that the "birth rate dropped for the second year in a row since the recession began in 2007." Specifically, the rate "fell to 13.5 births for every 1,000 people last year," which is "down from 14.3 in 2007 and way down from 30 in 1909." The "situation is a striking turnabout from 2007, when more babies were born in the United States than any other year in the nation's history."
According to Bloomberg News (8/27, Randall), "detailed data on mothers' ages in 2009 won't be available until next year and will give a greater indication of the link between the recession and the declining births in America, according to the CDC." The Washington Post (8/27, Stein) "The Checkup" blog also covered the story.
Testicular cancer may be linked with abnormal fetal development. Bloomberg News (8/30, Gale) reports, "Testicular cancer may be linked with abnormal fetal development," according to a paper in Human Reproduction. "Until now, it has been impossible to study testicular development during pregnancy in humans" but after developing a viable "model," UK scientists hope to eventually "understand the processes that can lead to the onset of testicular germ cell cancer in young adult life.