Mastitis is always an unwelcome guest for breastfeeding mothers. New treatments for mastitis involving the administration of probiotics instead of antibiotics have been successfully used to outsmart bacterial multiresistance to antibiotics, biofilm formation, and other mechanisms used by tricky bacteria to evade treatment. However, might there be a way to prevent mastitis from appearing…
Clinical Pearls
Hand-ily Increase Fat Content in Early Milk
Breastmilk obtained within the first 48–72 hours after delivery by manual expression contains a higher fat content than breastmilk obtained by an electric pump.
The higher fat content of manually expressed breastmilk during the first 72 hours following delivery may be due to the presence of hindmilk in the manually expressed milk.This may occur because…
The yellow flag of caution on energy drinks
Exhausted new mothers may be tempted to consume heavily promoted energy drinks to relieve fatigue and get a needed boost in energy and alertness. However, the high caffeine, herbal, and vitamin levels in these drinks are not well studied. If mothers are also taking prenatal vitamins, the combination could lead to vitamin toxicity. Because…
Emu Oil May Enhance Areolar Hydration
According to a recent article in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, prophylactic application of emu oil improves areolar skin barrier function that can help prevent sore nipples. Appropriate areolar hydration serves as one of a number of protective strategies for the nipple and areola during breastfeeding. Emu oil is anti-inflammatory, enhances…
Delivering Vitamin D
It may not be the breastmilk that has a vitamin D deficiency, but the dietary vitamin D recommendation for the lactating mother!
The common notion that low concentrations of vitamin D in human milk is a defect in design has prompted the recommendation for vitamin D supplementation for breastfeeding infants starting within the first few days after birth….
Syncopated Sucking
Did you know…live, organized, entrained, rhythmic sounds or music can improve sustained sucking patterns in term and preterm infants!
Akca & Aytekin (2014) studied the effect of soothing noise on the sucking outcomes of full term infants as measured on the LATCH breastfeeding assessment tool. Sixty-four infants in the experimental group were exposed to the…
Breast milk treatment for atopic eczema-a little dab will do ‘ya
Applying breast milk to the affected areas of skin is reported as efficacious as commonly used 1% hydrocortisone ointment. The results of the present study suggest that the human breast milk can improve infant atopic eczema with the same results as 1% hydrocortisone ointment. Human milk is less costly and its healing properties present a…
Seeing yellow—the eyes have it!
Just how long should jaundice last in a breastfed baby? Should we jump to intervene after 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks?
Researchers (1) have shown that it is normal for 20% to 30% of predominantly breastfed newborns to be jaundiced at 3 to 4 weeks and for 30% to 40% of these infants to…
Bugs or Drugs: Novel treatment for Mastitis
With antibiotic resistance so prevalent, new therapies for mastitis are always welcome. Bacteria have a potent armament against antibiotics and have developed sneaky ways to evade host immune responses. But researchers have found a way to turn the tables on Staph aureus and many of its cohorts in disease. Using selected lactobacilli strains isolated from breast milk as…
Breast milk? Sweet! A healthy infant gut starts with sugar!
A Healthy Infant Gut Starts with Sugar
Breastmilk contains an army of disease fighting sugars known as oligosaccharides. These complex components feed desirable gut bacteria and thwart pathogens from wreaking havoc in the infant gut, sending undesirable invaders into dirty diapers. Infant formula may contain a couple synthetic oligosaccharides but these are derived from pectin,…