{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/35927"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/35927","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Maternal Fat Intake during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Initiation","abstract":"Introduction: Breast milk provides health benefits for both mother and child. Prominent reasons for not initiating breastfeeding include lactation problems and perceived insufficient milk supply. Animal studies have shown that a high fat diet is associated with negative changes in the lactation process, while omega-3 supplementation appears to have positive effects. Hypothesis: 1. High maternal fat intake during pregnancy is associated with breastfeeding non-initiation. 2. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake (EPA+DHA) is associated with breastfeeding initiation. 3. Maternal EPA+DHA intake modifies the relationship between total fat intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding initiation. Materials and Methods: The data for this study were taken from the Prenatal Health Project, a prospective cohort study in London, Ontario. Women 10-22 week’s gestation were recruited from ultrasound clinics and followed-up at the perinatal, infant (yr) and toddler (2-5 yrs) stage. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted with blockwise data entry based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) created to conceptualize the hypothesized relationships and potential confounders. Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, higher maternal fat (>35% fat), compared to ≤35% fat, was associated with a higher odds of breastfeeding initiation (OR=2.014 (95% CI: 1.002, 4.045)). Mothers who met the dietary EPA+DHA recommendations may have been more likely to breastfeed, but this did not achieve statistical significance. There was no significant interaction between percent fat intake and EPA+DHA intake. Discussion and Summary: Mothers whose diets were composed of a higher fat percentage were more likely to initiate breastfeeding compared to mothers with a lower percentage.","abstract_html":"Introduction: Breast milk provides health benefits for both mother and child. Prominent reasons for not initiating breastfeeding include lactation problems and perceived insufficient milk supply. Animal studies have shown that a high fat diet is associated with negative changes in the lactation process, while omega-3 supplementation appears to have positive effects. Hypothesis: 1. High maternal fat intake during pregnancy is associated with breastfeeding non-initiation. 2. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake (EPA+DHA) is associated with breastfeeding initiation. 3. Maternal EPA+DHA intake modifies the relationship between total fat intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding initiation. Materials and Methods: The data for this study were taken from the Prenatal Health Project, a prospective cohort study in London, Ontario. Women 10-22 week’s gestation were recruited from ultrasound clinics and followed-up at the perinatal, infant (yr) and toddler (2-5 yrs) stage. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted with blockwise data entry based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) created to conceptualize the hypothesized relationships and potential confounders. Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, higher maternal fat (>35% fat), compared to ≤35% fat, was associated with a higher odds of breastfeeding initiation (OR=2.014 (95% CI: 1.002, 4.045)). Mothers who met the dietary EPA+DHA recommendations may have been more likely to breastfeed, but this did not achieve statistical significance. There was no significant interaction between percent fat intake and EPA+DHA intake. Discussion and Summary: Mothers whose diets were composed of a higher fat percentage were more likely to initiate breastfeeding compared to mothers with a lower percentage.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Man, Rachel"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"M Sc","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Epidemiology and Biostatistics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Campbell, M. Karen"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-07-07","date_published":"2015-07-07","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:14Z","subjects":["maternal nutrition","breastfeeding","pregnancy","maternal health","breastfeeding initiation","fat intake"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35927","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Campbell, M. Karen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Man, Rachel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T20:43:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T20:43:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2015-07-07"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Epidemiology and Biostatistics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M Sc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["maternal nutrition","breastfeeding","pregnancy","maternal health","breastfeeding initiation","fat intake"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35927"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Introduction: Breast milk provides health benefits for both mother and child. Prominent reasons for not initiating breastfeeding include lactation problems and perceived insufficient milk supply. Animal studies have shown that a high fat diet is associated with negative changes in the lactation process, while omega-3 supplementation appears to have positive effects. Hypothesis: 1. High maternal fat intake during pregnancy is associated with breastfeeding non-initiation. 2. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake (EPA+DHA) is associated with breastfeeding initiation. 3. Maternal EPA+DHA intake modifies the relationship between total fat intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding initiation. Materials and Methods: The data for this study were taken from the Prenatal Health Project, a prospective cohort study in London, Ontario. Women 10-22 week’s gestation were recruited from ultrasound clinics and followed-up at the perinatal, infant (yr) and toddler (2-5 yrs) stage. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted with blockwise data entry based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) created to conceptualize the hypothesized relationships and potential confounders. Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, higher maternal fat (>35% fat), compared to ≤35% fat, was associated with a higher odds of breastfeeding initiation (OR=2.014 (95% CI: 1.002, 4.045)). Mothers who met the dietary EPA+DHA recommendations may have been more likely to breastfeed, but this did not achieve statistical significance. There was no significant interaction between percent fat intake and EPA+DHA intake. Discussion and Summary: Mothers whose diets were composed of a higher fat percentage were more likely to initiate breastfeeding compared to mothers with a lower percentage."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Maternal Fat Intake during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Initiation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Campbell, M. Karen"],"dc:creator":["Man, Rachel"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T20:43:49Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T20:43:49Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2015-07-07"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["Introduction: Breast milk provides health benefits for both mother and child. Prominent reasons for not initiating breastfeeding include lactation problems and perceived insufficient milk supply. Animal studies have shown that a high fat diet is associated with negative changes in the lactation process, while omega-3 supplementation appears to have positive effects. Hypothesis: 1. High maternal fat intake during pregnancy is associated with breastfeeding non-initiation. 2. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake (EPA+DHA) is associated with breastfeeding initiation. 3. Maternal EPA+DHA intake modifies the relationship between total fat intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding initiation. Materials and Methods: The data for this study were taken from the Prenatal Health Project, a prospective cohort study in London, Ontario. Women 10-22 week’s gestation were recruited from ultrasound clinics and followed-up at the perinatal, infant (yr) and toddler (2-5 yrs) stage. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted with blockwise data entry based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) created to conceptualize the hypothesized relationships and potential confounders. Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, higher maternal fat (>35% fat), compared to ≤35% fat, was associated with a higher odds of breastfeeding initiation (OR=2.014 (95% CI: 1.002, 4.045)). Mothers who met the dietary EPA+DHA recommendations may have been more likely to breastfeed, but this did not achieve statistical significance. There was no significant interaction between percent fat intake and EPA+DHA intake. Discussion and Summary: Mothers whose diets were composed of a higher fat percentage were more likely to initiate breastfeeding compared to mothers with a lower percentage."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35927"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["maternal nutrition","breastfeeding","pregnancy","maternal health","breastfeeding initiation","fat intake"],"dc:title":["Maternal Fat Intake during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Initiation"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Epidemiology and Biostatistics"],"thesis:degree_name":["M Sc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:14Z"}