Page 147 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2024. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih / Health of Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press

Impact of breastfeeding on prevention of later cardiovascular events
in patients after cesarean section with moderate gestational
hypertension and pre-eclampsia: literature review
1,2
Uroš Višić , Nana Turk 3
1 University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Gynaecological Clinic, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2 University of Novo mesto, Faculty of Health Sciences, Novo mesto, Slovenia
3 University of Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Introduction: Preeclampsia is considered a syndrome, and the aetiology is still not ful-
ly understood. Several studies have shown that pre-eclampsia is associated with in-
creased risk of some of the most common complications due to cardiovascular events,
even after adjustment and identification of risk factors. Breastfeeding has benefits for
mother, including a faster process of involution in the postpartum period and a lower
risk of post-partum hemorrhage. Women who breastfed for two years were 37% less
likely to develop coronaropathy than women who did not breastfeed.
Methods: We performed a literature review of published scientific research articles
reporting on the impact of breastfeeding in pre-eclamptic patients and the risk of
cardiovascular events. The search was conducted in PubMed Central, ScienceDirect
and Google Scholar. The following keywords were used: »caesarean section«, »blood
pressure«, »complications«, »treatment«, »breastfeeding«. The results were analysed
by thematic analysis of qualitative and quantitative study findings. The literature search
was conducted with an eight-year lag from publication. The 10 articles included in our
literature review met all the inclusion criteria. The literature review was assessed for
eligibility for inclusion in the literature review based on the guidelines.
Results: Encouraging the first breastfeeding play an important role in preventing the
incidence of cardiovascular events. Also, different approaches to define the duration
of breastfeeding as a preventive measure. Taken together, these measures can affect
mental wellbeing and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by around 13%. Mean
systolic blood pressure values in patients who breastfed more than 6 months were
significantly lower (p = 0.04) compared to those who breastfed approximately 3- 6
months. For the prevention of postpartum hypertension, the association with lacta-
tion and breastfeeding in previous birth experiences is very important. Different stud-
ies indicate an optimal duration of breastfeeding after cesarean section ranging from problemi, izzivi in priložnosti na področju zdravja ... | concerns, challenges and opportunities in the health ...
minimum of 6 months up to up to 12 months. On average infants were breastfed for
15.6 months. With this duration of breastfeeding, patients reduced their risk of cardi-
ovascular events by 11% in later life.
Conclusion: We find that patients have worse breastfeeding outcomes, even when they
are supported and encouraged to breastfeed, especially in the early postnatal period.
This has an impact on the quality of life of the woman who has given birth, making it
eaiser for her to bond and to care for her newborn more independently.
Keywords: caesarean section, blood pressure, complications, treatment, breastfeeding

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