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Breast-feeding and maternal cardiovascular function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2002

ELIZABETH SIBOLBORO MEZZACAPPA ,
ROBERT M. KELSEY ,
MICHAEL M. MYERS  and
EDWARD S. KATKIN
ELIZABETH SIBOLBORO MEZZACAPPA
Affiliation:
Behavioral Medicine Program, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA
ROBERT M. KELSEY
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, USA
MICHAEL M. MYERS
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Psychobiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
EDWARD S. KATKIN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Abstract

Two studies examined the effects of breast-feeding on maternal cardiovascular function. In the first experiment, groups of breast-feeding and bottle-feeding women were compared on preejection period (PEP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) recorded for 1-min periods before and during standard laboratory stressors. Compared with bottle-feeders, breast-feeders had higher CO throughout the session, and greater decreases in CO and increases in TPR during cold pressor. In the second experiment, HR and blood pressure (BP) were compared before and after one breast-feeding and one bottle-feeding session in a within-subjects design. Both feeding methods increased BP but decreased HR, and systolic BP was higher for the breast-feeding than the bottle-feeding condition. Both studies support the notion that breast-feeding alters maternal cardiovascular function, possibly through the actions of oxytocin.

Keywords

Breast-feedingCardiovascular functionInfant feedingOxytocin
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 38 , Issue 6 , November 2001 , pp. 988 - 997
Copyright
© 2001 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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