PURPOSE Very little is known about the prevalence of regurgitations in human milk-fed infants in the first days of life. The authors aimed to compare the frequency of regurgitations in formula- and breastfed infants in the first 2 days of life. It was hypothesized that human milk-fed infants experience less episodes of regurgitations than their formula-fed counterparts. DESIGN, SAMPLE, AND OUTC...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of breastfeeding on the risk for fever after routine immunizations. METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted at a pediatric vaccination center in Naples, Italy. The mothers of the infants scheduled to receive routine immunizations were instructed on how to measure and record infant temperature on the evening of the vacc...

BACKGROUND There is a gap in knowledge on the growth of children exclusively breastfed during the fifth and sixth months of life. This study aimed to assess the growth of infants who were exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life and compare the distributions of anthropometric measures based on the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS, 1977) and World Health Organization (WHO,...

We describe a programme for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV that provided universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) to all pregnant women regardless of the CD4 lymphocyte count and formula feeding for children with high risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding in a district of India. The overall rate of HIV transmission was 3.7%. Although breastfeeding added a 3...

OBJECTIVES There is a dearth of information on the long-term maternal effects of breastfeeding. The objective of this study was to examine adherence to breastfeeding recommendations of exclusive breastfeeding for ≥4 months and continuation of breastfeeding for ≥1 year and maternal weight retention 6 years after delivery. METHODS Using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II),...

BACKGROUND Recommendations on breastfeeding under thiopurines are inconsistent due to limited data. AIM To assess the risk of infections in offspring breastfed by mothers receiving azathioprine (AZA) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS Babies, who were breastfed from their mothers treated either with or without AZA were included from a local pregnancy-registry. Women were asked by...

BACKGROUND Lutein is a carotenoid that may play a role in eye health. Human milk typically contains higher concentrations of lutein than infant formula. Preliminary data suggest there are differences in serum lutein concentrations between breastfed and formula-fed infants. AIM OF THE STUDY To measure the serum lutein concentrations among infants fed human milk or formulas with and without add...

BACKGROUND New national growth references have been published in Belgium and Norway. The WHO recommends universal use of their 2006 Child Growth Standards based on data from breastfed children. OBJECTIVE To compare the growth of Belgian and Norwegian children with the WHO standards. PARTICIPANTS 6985 children 0-5 years of age from Belgium and Norway. DESIGN Proportion of children below -2...

BACKGROUND Lactation has been associated with improvements in maternal glucose metabolism. METHODS We explored the relationships between lactation and risk of type 2 diabetes in a well-characterized, population-representative cohort of women, aged 40-78 years, who were members of a large integrated health care delivery organization in California and enrolled in the Reproductive Risk factors f...

BACKGROUND It has been hypothesized that human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) confer systemic health benefits to breastfed infants; however, plausible mechanisms for some effects, such as systemic immunomodulation, require HMOs to access the bloodstream of the developing infant. While small concentrations of HMOs have been detected in the urine of breastfed infants there are no published studies ...