OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence and to analyze factors associated with breast milk donation at primary health care units in order to increase the human milk bank reserves. METHODS Cross-sectional study carried out in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A representative sample of 695 mothers of children younger than 1 year attended to at the nine primary health care units with human milk dona...

Despite the many well-recognized benefits of breast-feeding for both mothers and infants, detectable levels of lead in breast milk have been documented in population studies of women with no current environmental or occupational exposures. Mobilization of maternal bone lead stores has been suggested as a potential endogenous source of lead in breast milk. We measured lead in breast milk to quan...

This article reviews the evidence for using breast-milk vitamin A as an indicator of vitamin A status and provides technical information for researchers who want to use this indicator to assess the vitamin A status of women and breast-fed children. Breast-milk vitamin A is a unique indicator for assessing the vitamin A status of lactating women and their breast-fed infants, and has recently bee...

The first milk substitute for giant panda cubs was developed in 1988 based on limited data about giant panda breast milk and that of certain types of bear. Mixtures of other formulas have also been fed to cubs at some facilities. However, they are not of sufficient nutritional quality for promoting growth in panda cubs. Here, we report analysis of giant panda breast milk and propose new milk su...

OBJECTIVE To explore whether feeding only directly from the breast in the first 24-48 h of life increases the proportion of infants receiving any breast milk at 6 months. DESIGN A prospective cohort study. SETTING Three maternity hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. PARTICIPANTS 1003 postpartum English-speaking women with a healthy singleton term infant, who intended to breast feed, were re...

UNLABELLED Excretion of radiopharmaceuticals into breast milk poses a potential risk to infants and clear recommendations regarding interruption times are required. There are few data available regarding the impact of (18)F-FDG on this issue. With increasing use of PET for oncologic imaging and its potential advantages to nursing mothers because of its short physical half-life compared with oth...

Breast-feeding is a known protective factor against breast cancer. Breast-feeding duration is influenced by hormone levels, milk production, and lifestyle factors. The aims were to investigate how breast-feeding duration and milk production affected tumor characteristics and risk for early breast cancer events in primary breast cancer patients. Between 2002 and 2008, 634 breast cancer patients ...

OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate changes in milk composition that reflect variations in breast permeability, milk synthesis, and immune response in women before, during, and after mastitis. METHODS Mothers (n = 26) were followed prospectively from day 5 postpartum to the end of their lactation. Milk from each breast, blood, 24-hour urine samples, and data on breast and systemic path...

During the last decade a great deal of scientific research has helped to establish the biological value of human breast milk. Starting with the nutrient and anti-infective properties we have now come to realise that breast milk is a live substance carrying at least two different populations of living cells each with a distinct biological property of its own (Ogra & Ogra, 1978). Furthermore, the...

Correspondence to: Dr J H Baumer, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK; harry. [email protected] _________________________ H uman milk banks provide an alternative to formula feeds for preterm babies when the mother’s breast milk is unavailable. The first human milk bank in the United Kingdom opened at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, London in 1939. The emergence of the human immunodeficiency vi...