Category: Evidence-Based Medicine

Is Breastfeeding Twelve or More Times a Day Normal? Not Always

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A meme posted by an IBCLC states that breastfeeding 12 or MORE times a day is “normal” with no further education on when it can be a sign of newborn hunger, poor feeding, inadequate milk transfer, or failure to thrive. 

Overly simplistic memes like this are irresponsible and confusing and, in some cases, are the reason why parents miss red flags that require medical attention and lactation assessment to be sure the baby is receiving adequate nutrition and fluids when nursing. (Source of meme to the left, Facebook, Lucy Ruddle, IBCLC)

Here at the Fed Is Best Foundation, we receive messages frequently from families who tell us they were repeatedly assured by trusted health professionals that nursing 12 or more times a day is completely normal. 

But is it always normal?

No, it’s not.  Continue reading →

Guidelines for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Mothers During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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Photo Credit: Shutter Stock

By the Fed is Best Foundation Health Professional Team

We have summarized the current recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control  for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Mothers in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have also endorsed the CDC recommendations. This information is intended to inform health care professionals and pregnant mothers who are confirmed positive for COVID-19 or persons under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19 in the hospital and postpartum settings.

The symptoms of coronavirus for pregnant and lactating mothers and infants are the same as those of the general population, which include but are not limited to:

  • Fever 
  • Cough
  • Shortness of Breath
  • Fatigue
  • Poor appetite
  • Sputum production 
  • Body aches

The United States is currently has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, particularly in New York, New Jersey, California and Washington State. See the current world distribution of Coronavirus cases here. Continue reading →

Will Breast Milk Protect My Baby From Getting Sick? Passive Immunity 101

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Written by Jody Segrave-Daly MS, RN, IBCLC

As a veteran neonatal nurse and lactation consultant, I am often asked by parents to explain how the antibodies found in breastmilk work to protect their babies. Published research on immunology is extremely technical and difficult to understand, and unfortunately, the information that is readily available (especially on social media) contains a lot of false and conflicting information. So I’m here to share evidence-based information about this very important topic in a way that is easier for most parents to understand.

How does the immune system work?

Our immune system is very complex, but generally speaking, it is responsible for fighting off both germs that enter our bodies from our environment, and also for protecting us from diseases like cancer that occur within our bodies. I will be focusing on how the immune system fights off germs, which it does by producing antibodies.

What is an antibody and what does it do?

An antibody is a protein that is produced by the body’s immune system when it detects the surfaces of foreign and potentially harmful substances, also known as pathogens. Examples of pathogens are bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which are all microorganisms. The antibody response is specific; it will seek out and neutralize the microorganism and stop the invasion. There are five classes of antibodies: IgM, IgG, IgA, IgD, and IgE.

There are two ways babies acquire and develop immunity:
  • The first way is through passive immunity (temporary)
  • The second way is through active or acquired immunity (lifelong) 

The color denotes where the antibody source originates from in the body.

 

Continue reading →

U.S. Study Shows Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Does Not Work

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by Christie del Castillo-Hegyi, M.D.

On October 14, 2019, the Journal of Pediatrics published astonishing findings regarding the effects of the Baby-Friendly hospital certification on sustained breastfeeding rates as defined by the 2020 Healthy People Goals of: 

  1. any breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months
  2. exclusive breastfeeding at 3 and 6 months. 

They did so by measuring the relationship between statewide breastfeeding initiation rates data and the above breastfeeding rates. They then measured the contribution of Baby-Friendly hospital designation on these same breastfeeding outcomes.

According to the study authors, the increase in hospital designation in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) began in 2011 when the U.S. Surgeon General issued a call to action for maternity care practices throughout the U.S. to support breastfeeding. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) became involved in promoting the BFHI policies in hospitals and health facilities, as breastfeeding was thought to be associated with lower rates of childhood obesity. The assumption was that by increasing breastfeeding rates through the BFHI, there would be a concomitant decline in childhood obesity. Upon initiation of this program, the CDC initiated surveillance of state-specific data on breastfeeding outcomes after discharge including BFHI designation rates. This data is made available to the public through the CDC Breastfeeding Report Card, which provides annual reports from 2007 through 2014 and biennial reports from 2014.

As expected, they found that states with higher breastfeeding initiation rates had higher rates of these sustained breastfeeding outcomes. You cannot have high breastfeeding rates unless mothers are given education and successfully initiate breastfeeding. However, when they measured the effects of Baby-Friendly certification, this is what they found.

“Baby-Friendly designation did not demonstrate a significant association with any post-discharge breastfeeding outcome (Figures 1, B and 2, B). There was no association between Baby-Friendly designation and breastfeeding initiation rates.” Continue reading →

Is Breast Milk Stealing The Spotlight Of A Novel Anti-Tumor Compound?

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BY ALEXANDRIA FISCHER, PHD CANDIDATE AT THE RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, STUDYING SYNTHETIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES

The “magic” of breastmilk is never-ending, plastered everywhere on social media with little regard to true scientific analysis. The idea that breastfeeding prevents cancer is a huge promotion point for why mothers should breastfeed at all costs. But while the cancer-preventing benefits are overblown, there is an even bigger claim surrounding the anti-cancer properties of breastmilk; that breast milk kills cancer, in and of itself.  This is a claim that I have seen made many times, so I decided to dig into the research and see where this claim came from and how truthful the claim is.

So where did this idea that breastmilk can kill cancer cells come from? It’s actually a long, and interesting accident of science.  In 1995 researchers were studying the adherence of bacteria to lung cancer cells in the presence of human milk fractions [1]. Fractionation is simply the process where the different molecule types in any substance are separated from one another. One of the tested fractions showed not only inhibition of bacterial adherence but also induced apoptosis of the tumor cells. Apoptosis is just a fancy word for cell death. This fraction was α-lactalbumin, an abundant protein in milk. However, α-lactalbumin in its natural state has no effect on tumor cells.  So what happened in the 1995 study? It seems that the researchers fractionated the milk at a low pH (acidic) implying that there was some kind of change in the structure of the protein. Further work showed that a reaction between the α-lactalbumin and oleic acid (acids lower pH) form the HAMLET compound [2]. HAMLET stands for Human α-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumors. HAMLET is an incredibly interesting compound that induced cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells but not human cells.

Continue reading →