Clinical Pearl

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...

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...

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...

Prophylactic peppermint gel (along with appropriate breastfeeding education and support) may help prevent cracked nipples. Peppermint has a number of qualities that bode well for its use on the nipples of breastfeeding mothers. It can have a calming and numbing effect...

Baby massage ameliorates neonatal jaundice in full-term newborn infants. That massage which feels so good to you can actually help tame high bilirubin levels in newborn breastfed infants. A massaged group of term breastfed infants demonstrated higher stool frequency...

Laughter increases the levels of melatonin in breastmilk. Mothers who viewed a humorous 87 minute DVD compared to an 87 minute DVD on the weather demonstrated increased levels of breastmilk melatonin. This occurred in both allergic and healthy mothers. Feeding infants...

  Pump dependent mothers of preterm infants who listen to music while pumping produce significantly more milk with a higher fat content. Music based interventions provided to mothers pumping on a frequent and long term basis may serve as another tool to increase...

The warming of tissues is a known therapeutic intervention that has the effect of increasing local blood flow and metabolism in tissues, facilitating excretion of tissue waste materials and phagocytosis, and enhancing tissue nutrition (Barret, Barman, Boitano, et al.,...