This qualitative descriptive study examined the breastfeeding experiences of urban adolescent mothers using a combination of focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Analysis of verbatim interview text, field, and debriefing notes was undertaken to discover categories, themes and an emerging conceptual framework. Twenty-three teens, between the ages of 14 and 18, enrolled from two postpartu...

AIM To test the effect of the dephytinization of three different commercial infant cereals on iron, calcium, and zinc bioavailability by estimating the uptake, retention, and transport by Caco-2 cells. METHODS Both dephytinized (by adding an exogenous phytase) and non-dephytinized infant cereals were digested using an in vitro digestion protocol adapted to the gastrointestinal conditions of i...

Breastfeeding is associated with reduced risks of gastrointestinal and intestinal infections, and of mortality due to those infections. 1,2 The protective effect is stronger against gastrointestinal infection than against respiratory infection, and in developing than in developed countries for both types of infection, and increases with the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding. The magnitu...

Maternal care during the first week postpartum has long-term consequences for offspring development in rodents. However, mother-infant interactions continue well beyond this period, with several physiological and behavioral changes occurring between days 18 and 28 PN. In the present study, we investigate the long-term effects on offspring behavior of being weaned at day 21 PN versus day 28 PN. ...

Jarcho-Levin syndrome is a rare disorder characterised by defects in vertebral and costal segmentation of varying severity. Respiratory complications are the main cause of death or severe comorbidity due to a restrictive rib cage. A 3 months old infant with Spondylocostal dysostosis and associated bronchomalacia experiencing severe asynchrony during the weaning process is reported. The Neurally...

The main aspects of infant feeding that have been studied in humans in association with the subsequent development of adipose tissue include breastfeeding, rapid infancy weight gain, and weaning practices. While observational studies have consistently shown a protective effect of breastfeeding on the development of obesity, these studies may be confounded by unmeasured or unknown factors, as su...

Positive experiences with the introduction of solid food in infancy may lead to positive associations feeding both parent and infant. During this transitional period, parental behavior infant eating might mutually reinforce each other. A style that is found be associated child behavior, sensitive feeding. In present study we tested bidirectional prospective relations between mother a cross-lagg...

OBJECTIVES: A “dip” in the stable nitrogen isotope ratios (dN) of subadults in the late weaning/early post-weaning phase of growth and development has been observed. Speculatively, this is the mechanism of positive nitrogen balance operating among rapidly growing subadults. An alternate hypothesis for dN dips is that during weaning, subadults eat lower-N foods than adults. METHODS: This study e...

BACKGROUND Coconut oil is commonly used as herbal medicine worldwide. There is limited information regarding its effects on the developing embryo and infant growth. METHODS We investigated the effect of virgin coconut oil post-natally and until 6 weeks old in mice (age of maturity). Females were fed with either standard, virgin olive oil or virgin coconut oil diets 1 month prior to copulation...

There is a growing recognition of the need for a lifecourse approach to understanding the aetiology of adult disease, and there is now significant evidence that links patterns of infant feeding to differences in health outcomes, both in the short and longer term. Breastfeeding is associated with lower rates of infection in infancy; in high-income populations, it is associated with reductions in...