Common labour painkillers cut new mums' ability to breastfeed
Drugs and painkillers that are routinely given to women in labour may reduce their ability to breastfeed their baby, researchers have claimed.
A new study suggests that life-saving medication given to nearly all women to prevent and treat bleeding after birth is linked to reduced breastfeeding rates.
The findings indicate a potential biological reason for why so many women in this country fail to breastfeed, compared with the EU average.
The Department of Health recommends that all children are breastfed for the first six months, because of the health benefits it can provide for both mother and baby.
But breastfeeding rates in Ireland are among the lowest in Europe, with less than half of infants exclusively breastfed a week after birth.
Analysis of the records of more than 48,000 women who gave birth in Britain found that use of oxytocin was associated with a 7pc decline in the proportion who started breastfeeding within 48 hours of giving birth.
It is thought that the drugs may impede a woman's ability to produce milk, suggesting that mothers who have them may need greater time or support from midwives if they wish to breastfeed their baby.
The study also confirmed the link between high doses of injected pain relief -- such as epidurals -- and lower rates of breastfeeding.
Of the women involved in the study, who all gave birth between 1989 and 1999, two thirds of those who did not receive drugs to prevent post-partum haemorrhage started breastfeeding their baby within 48 hours of giving birth.
But the proportion of those doing so reduced to 59.1pc among those given an injection of oxytocin, a hormone that plays an important natural role in labour.
hnews@herald.ie
- David Rose
