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An Ohio University researcher took a new approach when looking at pregnancy, high blood pressure and breastfeeding
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Most of the medical discourse surrounding high blood pressure and pregnancy revolves around the possible complications that happen during pregnancy. But an Ohio University researcher is among a group taking an approach that looks at the before and after.
Zelalem Haile is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. He co-authored a recent study that looks at how high blood pressure before pregnancy affects breastfeeding.
He sat down to speak with WOUB’s David Forster for “Modern Science.”
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
On why they chose to look at this aspect of high blood pressure’s affect on breastfeeding
“We know that some women may enter pregnancy when they’re already hypertensive. We realized that pre-pregnancy health might quietly shape postpartum outcomes, including breastfeeding. And surprisingly, no one really had examined the relationship using such a big data set like ours.
“Preconception care is something that’s currently being investigated. In this study, we wanted to look at if any of the preconception health has any impact on outcomes, including breastfeeding.”
Here’s what their research found
“It’s a combination of both biology and other experiences that women face. When you are hypertensive, you often have a more complicated pregnancy, you are more likely to have higher level of stress, you’re more likely to go through more medical monitoring. And sometimes you may end up having your infant in a NICU, that is, the neonatal intensive care unit. All of this can interfere with things like early skin to skin contact or milk establishment, and even the confidence in breastfeeding.
“However, there is also the biological mechanism from a physiological point of view. We know that hypertension affects blood vessels, and breastfeeding depends on a good blood flow through the breast and hormone signaling. That process may not work efficiently in women with vascular dysfunction due to pre-pregnancy hypertension.”
Breastfeeding, when possible, has benefits for both the infant and the mother
“We know that breastfeeding has numerous benefits for the infant. It’s sort of an ideal nutrition that supports growth and development. We know that there are studies out there that show it can lower the risk of asthma, obesity, Type 1 diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections and stomach bugs. We also know that there is a maternal transfer of antibodies, which can help the baby have a strong immune system and protect the infant from illnesses. Most importantly for moms, there are studies that show that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, Type 2 diabetes or even high blood pressure.”
On what Haile would like to see change after their research
“We know that hypertension affects about one in seven women of reproductive age, at least here in the United States. So even a small reduction in the breastfeeding rates, we know, can translate into a large number of infants missing out on this immune protection that I pointed out, and the mothers missing out those cardiovascular benefits. So it becomes a health equity issue, right? Not just an individual one.
“It’s very important that health care providers counsel women who are planning to be pregnant to enter pregnancy healthy. They need to get their counseling, their medication, before they become pregnant.”
The first draft of the transcript used for this story was created in Adobe Podcast, which includes an AI transcription tool. A WOUB News Editor then reviewed, corrected and reformatted the transcript before publication.