Dr. Sharon Perrella

School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia.

Dr. Sharon Perrella is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Geddes lab at the University of Western Australia.  Dr. Perrella's clinical background includes paediatric nursing, midwifery and neonatal intensive care nursing. An extended 'breastfeeding practicum' came with mothering three children. Sharon subsequently qualified as an Australian Breastfeeding Association breastfeeding counsellor, and then an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. A PhD thesis titled ‘The effect of different types of nutrition on the gastrointestinal response of the preterm infant’ was completed in 2014 with the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group at The University of Western Australia, where Sharon now works as a research fellow and her research interests include the establishment and maintenance of lactation and breastfeeding following preterm birth, low milk supply, and the effect of oral anomalies on breastfeeding outcomes.

Abstract: Milk and Sugar: The Paradox of Breastfeeding and GDM

Infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at greater risk of overweight and obesity, diabetes and metabolic disease later in life. Around 14% of Australian pregnancies are complicated by GDM, and the rate is rising. Breastfeeding is particularly important to infants of GDM mothers as it reduced the risk of pre-diabetes, overweight and obesity and metabolic disease later in life. Infants of GDM mothers that are fully breastfed for between 6 and 9 weeks are less likely to gain excess weight in their first year. The protective effects of human milk increase with longer breastfeeding duration, however, mothers with GDM are more likely to have delayed onset of milk production and low milk supply, both of which may lead to early cessation of breastfeeding.

In this presentation, we will explore what is known regarding the timing of secretory activation and milk production in women with GDM as well as the emerging evidence for differences in milk composition after pregnancies complicated by diabetes. Practical strategies for optimising lactation for women with GDM will be discussed.