Moffatt DC, Ilnyckyj A, Bernstein CN. Am J Gastroenterol 2009;104:2517–23.
Using the University of Manitoba IBD Research Registry, these investigators assessed breastfeeding practices and the impact of breastfeeding on disease flare during the post partum year in IBD patients. Of 204 eligible women who were sent questionnaires, 132 responded, providing information on 156 births. The key findings were that breastfeeding was initiated in 83.3% of women with IBD compared with 77.1% in the general population (p>0.05). The rate of disease flare in the post partum year did not significantly differ between those who breastfed and those who did not. A subgroup analysis eliminating medication discontinuers from the cohort found that breastfeeding may in fact be protective from disease flare during the post partum year.
A referral center study from Chicago, IL, USA, previously reported an increased rate of disease flare in women who breastfed; this was attributed to discontinuation of medication in order to breastfeed [1]. That study also found a very low overall rate of initiation of breastfeeding (29%).