Breastfeeding Medicine

Background: In the United States, 11.1% of households experience food insecurity; however, pregnant women are disproportionately affected. Maternal food insecurity may affect infant feeding practices, for example, through being a source of chronic stress that may alter the decision to initiate and continue breastfeeding. Thus, we sought to determine whether prenatal food insecurity was associated with breastfeeding (versus not) and exclusive breastfeeding duration among Oregon women. Method: The Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data of live births from 2008 to 2015 and the Oregon PRAMS-2 follow-up survey were used ( n = 3,624) in this study...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Objective: We sought to evaluate breastfeeding (BF) practices in patients with maternal cardiac disease (MCD) stratified by area deprivation index (ADI) to identity communities at risk. Study Design: Retrospective cohort of patients managed by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Cardio-Obstetrics Program. Patients were included if they had ≥1 prenatal visit with the Cardio-Obstetrics team, delivered at UAB, and had a street address on file. The primary outcome was BF rate at hospital discharge...

Background: Human milk fatty acids derive from maternal diet, body stores, and mammary synthesis and may reflect women's underlying cardiometabolic health. We explored whether human milk fatty acid composition was associated with maternal cardiometabolic disease (CMD) during pregnancy and up to 5 years postpartum. Materials and Methods: We analyzed data from the prospective CHILD Cohort Study on 1,018 women with no preexisting CMD who provided breast milk samples at 3-4 months postpartum. Milk fatty acid composition was measured using gas-liquid chromatography...

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the associations of growth and body composition with gut microbiome and metabolome in preterm infants. Materials and Methods: A prospective cohort study including 73 human milk-fed very preterm infants was conducted. During hospitalization, fecal samples were collected to detect microbes and metabolites using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Growth and body composition indices were measured at term equivalent age (TEA) and 6 months of corrected age (CA)...

Purpose: We aimed to understand adolescents' and young adults' perceptions and the extent of their knowledge about breastfeeding. Methods: Participants (adolescents and young adults in the United States, 14-24 years of age) were texted five open-ended questions about their perceptions of various aspects of breastfeeding including their initial reaction to breastfeeding, the impact on the infant and parent, how it compares with formula, and whether they were breastfed. The responses were analyzed for themes using an inductive content analysis approach...

Background: Formula and breastfeeding are known factors associated with infant weight trajectories. Evidence exploring the effect of expressed human milk feeding on infant weight in the community setting has not been well synthesized. Objectives: This systematic review examined (1) weight changes among infants fed expressed human milk and (2) differences in weight change between infants fed expressed human milk and infants fed at the breast or infant formula via bottle. Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines...

Background: Some breastfeeding mothers try to increase their milk supply through pharmaceutical, dietary, and behavioral strategies that vary in effectiveness. Information seeking behaviors may influence which strategies mothers use. Objective: To describe where mothers obtain information about increasing milk supply, describe the perceived influence of each information source on decision-making about strategies for increasing milk supply, and explore associations between information sources and mothers' use of galactagogues (i...

Background: Human milk (HM) is usually fortified using standard fortification (STD) to improve nutrition of preterm infants. However, the protein component may still be insufficient. HM could be further fortified with additional protein to improve STD. Objective: The primary objective was to compare changes in body weight (g/day, g/kg/day), length, and head circumference (mm/day) between preterm neonates fed HM with STD and those fed HM with adjustable fortification (ADJ). Methods: This study was a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled study in preterm infants of gestational age <32 weeks and weighing ≤1,800 g, admitted to the neonatal unit of the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health...

Background: The use of cannabis and its perceived safety among pregnant and breastfeeding women has increased in the context of expanding legalization. Current guidelines recommend abstaining from the use of cannabis while pregnant or breastfeeding due to the potential for harm, although there is still much that is unknown in this field. Case Presentation: A 5-week-old infant presented with recurrent apneic episodes and a positive urine delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) screening test. The infant's mother reported regular cannabis use for treatment of depression and anxiety while pregnant and breastfeeding...

Background: Obesity is characterized as a low-grade chronic inflammatory state, marked by elevated inflammatory biomarkers. Breast milk (BM) is rich in nutritional elements, vitamins, minerals, immunological factors, and bioactive components. These bioactive components, capable of influencing biological processes, may vary in concentration based on maternal body composition. Research Aim/Question(s): This study aimed to explore the association between pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (interleukin-1 beta [IL-1β], interleukin-6 [IL-6], and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α]) in human colostrum and maternal body composition, as analyzed through bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA)...

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended through age 6 months, and 24.9% of all U.S. mothers, but only 19.8% of African American or Black (AA/B) mothers, achieved this goal (2020). Smartphone technology, specifically short message service (SMS or texting), may provide a strategy to reach and engage AA/B women who otherwise face barriers related to racism in accessing breastfeeding resources. Unfortunately, few mobile health applications are designed for AA/B women. Methods: We created a culturally sensitive breastfeeding promotion and support text message library that begins at 28 weeks prenatally and continues through 10 weeks postpartum...

Background: Primary low milk supply (PLMS) prevents mothers from producing sufficient milk to breastfeed exclusively. However, limited evidence exists regarding women's experiences of breastfeeding with PLMS. Objective: This article aims to investigate the emotional experiences of mothers breastfeeding with PLMS in the first 3 months postpartum. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in Ireland and used a phenomenological methodology to investigate the lived experiences of breastfeeding mothers with PLMS...

Introduction: Promoting maternal breastfeeding for at least 6 months is important to improve children physical health during infancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood. For this guideline to be followed, it is paramount to identify what factors best support the initiation and length of breastfeeding. This study estimates the contribution of various child- and parent-level factors, as well as the sociodemographic context in predicting maternal breastfeeding initiation and duration. Methods: This study draws on data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development...

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Objective: Infants with significant retrognathia often have difficulty forming a latch adequate to establish exclusive breastfeeding. This article describes the use of at-breast supplementers (ABSs) to facilitate extended breastfeeding relationships, even when supplementation is necessary for growth. Methods: Two cases are described where infants with severe retrognathia initially struggled with weight gain necessitating supplementation but were able to ultimately exclusively feed at-breast with the use of ABSs...

Background and Objectives: Few U.S. women meet the public health recommendations to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months and continue breastfeeding for at least 1-2 years. We compared prenatally collected demographic, health, and breastfeeding support/intention variables to examine how these factors intersect to predict meeting breastfeeding recommendations. Methods: PREVAIL, a CDC-funded birth cohort in Cincinnati, OH, was approved by the IRB at CDC, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and the hospitals where enrollment (third trimester, 2017-2018) occurred...

Background: Human milk is the optimal form of nutrition for infants. Interventions associated with a decreased rate of exposure to infant formula are of benefit. We hypothesized that intravenous (IV) fluids could be associated with a reduction of infant formula when infants are separated from their mother. Methods: Retrospective chart review of term infants admitted to Rady Children's Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) for possible sepsis who received antibiotic treatment but did not develop sepsis. IV fluid use and formula exposure were analyzed...

Background: Since human milk contents does not meet the high need of very low birth weight infants, fortification of breast milk is a standard practice for this population. As donkey milk has been long considered for children allergic to cow's milk proteins due to its low allergic properties, a new donkey milk-derived fortifier (DF) has been recently evaluated as a valid alternative to bovine milk-derived fortifier (BF). It seems to improve feeding tolerance when compared with standard BF, with similar neurodevelopmental and auxological outcome at 18 months of age...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.