Cholesterol & Breastfeeding

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance human bodies need. However, too much cholesterol in your blood builds-up on artery walls and leads to heart disease and stroke. Breastfeeding babies experience high cholesterol levels while nursing and it is believed cholesterol in breast milk plays an important role in health well beyond the nursing years. Pregnant women also experience a safe and natural rise in cholesterol levels during pregnancy and early lactation.

Significance to Baby

For a baby, cholesterol is a fat critical to brain development. "Breast milk contains a lot of cholesterol, while infant formulas currently contain none,” says Dr. William Sears M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, and author of over 30 childcare books. “Low-in-cholesterol may be good news for adult diets, but not for babies.”

Naturally occurring breast milk fats, in fact, are easily and highly absorbable by a baby. While synthetic infant formulas are beginning to include fatty acids, the absorption of these additives is less effective than in breast milk.

Significance to Mother

Women naturally have high cholesterol and overall lipid levels during and after pregnancy. Mothers who breastfeed, however, may see their lipid levels return to a their pre-pregnancy range three times sooner than those who bottle-feed their babies, according to a 1982 study published in the "British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology". To get an accurate cholesterol reading, a 1989 study in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” suggests women refrain from having their cholesterol checked until after breastfeeding is complete.