New proactive app could connect breastfeeding mothers with lactation consultants

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"A newly developed proactive app could instantly connect breastfeeding mothers with pediatricians or lactation consultants to help collect data, monitor patients and provide consultation and support while improving breastfeeding outcomes for new mothers.

Azza Ahmed, an associate professor in Purdue's School of Nursing, and Jeffrey Brewer, an associate professor of computer and information technology in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, co-founded LACTOR LLC to commercialize the technology.

LACTOR's system has two main components - the mother's portal, where mothers can enter their breastfeeding data and receive notifications, and the lactation consultant's portal, where mothers' data is received by experts who can provide support and counsel if requested or needed.

"Mothers use the app as a type of diary to input data such as how many times she breastfeeds, for how long, how many ounces she may have pumped or additional data like if she's using a supplement," said Ahmed, who's also an International Board-certified lactation consultant and pediatric nurse practitioner. "The app is connected to a server that allows the mothers to receive notifications or interventions from a professional if any questions or concerns arise, giving an opportunity to track their children's feeding patterns and detect any problems early and communication with the lactation consultant."

Ahmed said the U.S. has achieved breastfeeding initiation rate based on Healthy People 2020 goals, but there is still a struggle with continuation rates.

"Breastfeeding provides short- and long-term benefits to both infants and mothers. It protects babies from many infections and illnesses, and research shows that breastfed babies are less likely to develop asthma or become obese along with several other benefits," she said. "Although the United States has met the national objective for breastfeeding initiation, rates of breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months, as well as exclusive breastfeeding at 3 and 6 months, are still low, and only 22 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed at the end of six months, which demonstrates the challenges mothers continue to face after hospital discharge..."

Learn More:

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180227/New-proactive-app-could-connect-breastfeeding-mothers-with-lactation-consultants.aspx

Breastfeeding reduces risk of endometriosis diagnosis

medlineplus.gov

"Endometriosis is a chronic and incurable gynecologic disorder that affects approximately 10 percent of women in the United States. Its symptoms can be debilitating and include chronic pelvic pain, painful periods and pain during intercourse. 

A new study by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital finds that women who breastfed for longer periods of time had significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with endometriosis, offering new insights into a condition that, up until now, has had very few known, modifiable risk factors. The team's findings are published in The BMJ.

"We found that women who breastfed for a greater duration were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis," said corresponding author Leslie Farland, ScM, ScD, a research scientist at the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at BWH. "Given the chronic nature of endometriosis and that very few modifiable risk factors are currently known, breastfeeding may be an important modifiable behavior to reduce the risk of endometriosis among women after pregnancy."

The team used data from the Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII), a prospective cohort study that began in 1989. In the current analysis, researchers followed thousands of women for more than 20 years. During that time period, 3,296 women in the study were surgically diagnosed with endometriosis after their first pregnancy. 

The research team examined how long each woman breastfed, exclusively breastfed (breastfed without the introduction of solid food or formula), and how much time passed before their first postpartum period..." - Read More

 

Study confirms that breast is best for premature babies' hearts

via stuff.co.nz

"Breastfeeding premature babies improves long-term heart structure and function, an Oxford University study has found.

The hearts of babies born early often develop abnormally. Dr Adam Lewandowski and colleagues at the Oxford Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, directed by Professor Paul Leeson, have previously shown that, in adult life, the hearts of people who were born very preterm have smaller chambers, thicker walls and reduced function.

The changes in the heart are thought to emerge in the first few months after birth and therefore the team wanted to explore whether the way the baby was fed during this time might be able to alter how the heart develops. Dr Lewandowski, who led the research, explained: 'We already had data on more than 900 individuals who were followed since birth as part of an earlier study, which started in 1982, on the effects of different feeding regimes in preterm infants. We invited individuals who had been followed up throughout life to come to Oxford for a detailed cardiovascular study and used this information to investigate how different feeding regimes could affect the development of the heart in the long term.'

From the original group, now in their early- to mid-twenties, 102 people were able to visit Oxford and take part in the study. A further 102 people of similar age who had not been born prematurely were also recruited.

The study published in Pediatrics showed that while those who had been born early had reduced heart volumes and function compared to those born at term, the reduction was considerably less in people who had been exclusively fed on breastmilk compared to those fed only on formula milk. Furthermore, in those fed a combination of breastmilk and formula, the more breastmilk consumed in the diet as babies the better their heart structure and function as adults..."

Learn more:

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-breast-premature-babies-hearts.html