Current research continues to support breastfeeding benefits

Rapid capillary gel electrophoresis analysis of human milk oligosaccharides for food additive manufacturing in-process control

Industrial production of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) represents a recently growing interest since they serve as key ingredients in baby formulas and are also utilized as dietary supplements for all age groups. Despite their short oligosaccharide chain lengths, HMO analysis is challenging due to extensive positional and linkage variations. Capillary gel electrophoresis primarily separates analyte molecules based on their hydrodynamic volume to charge ratios, thus, offers excellent resolution for most of such otherwise difficult-to-separate isomers. In this work, two commercially available gel compositions were evaluated on the analysis of a mixture of ten synthetic HMOs. The relevant respective separation matrices were then applied to selected analytical in-process control examples. The conventionally used carbohydrate separation matrix was applied for the in-process analysis of bacteria-mediated production of 3-fucosyllactose, lacto-N-tetraose, and lacto-N-neotetraose. The other example showed the suitability of the method for the in vivo in-process control of a shake flask and fermentation approach of 2′-fucosyllactose production. In this latter instance, borate complexation was utilized to efficiently separate the 2′- and 3-fucosylated lactose positional isomers. In all instances, the analysis of the HMOs of interest required only a couple of minutes with high resolution and excellent migration time and peak area reproducibility (average RSD 0.26% and 3.56%, respectively), features representing high importance in food additive manufacturing in-process control.

Continuation of breastfeeding: is this a problem in Southeast Iran?

BACKGROUND

Despite widespread knowledge about breastfeeding benefits for mothers and neonates, duration of breastfeeding is decreasing in most countries. Many factors have an effect on continuation of breastfeeding. This study was designed to evaluate duration of breastfeeding and its associated factors in rural and urban children.

METHODS

In a historical cohort study, health files of 1,264 Iranian children under 3 years old were selected by the multistage sampling method in the Zabol district, located in southeast Iran. Two lists of rural and urban health centers based on their distance were prepared, and by systematic sampling technique three centers were selected in each list. Tables, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and median and mean O SD values were used for data description; log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazard model were applied for data analysis.

RESULTS

The mean duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 5.6 +/- 1.3 months, and the mean duration of any breastfeeding was 20.8 +/- 4.69 months. All children had started breastfeeding at birth. Breastfeeding continuation at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months was 98%, 92%, 76%, and 0.97%, respectively. Maternal age, mother's job, education level, living area, child's birth weight, child's birth rank, birth intervals, and age of onset of supplementary food had a significant relationship with breastfeeding continuation.

CONCLUSIONS

Some risk factors for breastfeeding continuation were found, and it is suggested that more attention be paid to them in education programs by the health system.

Cup versus bottle feeding for hospitalized late preterm infants in Egypt: a quasi-experimental study

Background

Although previous studies have demonstrated beneficial breastfeeding outcomes when cup feeding rather than bottle feeding was used for feeding preterm infants, cup feeding has not been implemented in Egypt. The aim of the current study was to examine the effect of using cup feeding as an exclusive method of feeding preterm infants during hospitalization on breastfeeding outcomes after discharge.

Methods

A quasi-experimental design, with the control group studied first, was used to examine the effect of cup feeding for preterm infants on breastfeeding outcomes after discharge. Sixty preterm infants (mean gestational age was 35.13 weeks and mean birth weight was 2150 grams) were recruited during Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay. Control group infants (n = 30) received only bottle feedings during hospitalization and the experimental group (n = 30) received only cup feedings during hospitalization. Both groups were followed up after discharge for six weeks to evaluate infant's breastfeeding behavior and mother's breastfeeding practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA for testing the differences between the cup feeding and bottle feeding groups over six weeks after discharge.

Results

Cup fed infants demonstrated significantly more mature breastfeeding behaviors when compared to bottle fed infants (p < 0.01) over six weeks, and had a significantly higher proportion of breast feedings one week after discharge (p = 0.03).

Conclusion

Cup fed infants were more exclusively breast fed one week after discharge, supporting the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative recommendations for using cup feeding and avoiding bottle feeding when providing supplementation for preterm infants. The current study provides initial evidence for the implementation of cup feeding as a method of supplementation for late preterm infants during hospitalization.

Trial Registration

Clinical Trial NCT00756587.