Background: Bereaved mothers describe positive experiences donating breast milk and negative experiences when not informed of opportunities to donate. Predictors of whether mothers donate milk are unknown, impairing efforts to optimize support in completing donation. Objective: To define circumstances associated with completing mother\'s milk (MM) donation during bereavement. Methods: A retrospective cohort study included dyads of bereaved mothers and their deceased children if a child\'s death occurred on-site at a quaternary care children\'s hospital during 2016-2020, the child had documentation of MM availability, and age at death <24 months. The primary outcome was the completion of MM donation to the milk bank. Multivariate logistic regression measured associations between clinical variables and odds of completion. Results: Of 124 deceased children with documented MM exposure, 34 mothers (28%) of 35 of those children completed MM donation, donating a mean of 13.7 liters (SD 16.8). The child\'s race/ethnicity documented in the medical record was White for 25 (71%), Black/African American (AA) for 1 (3%), Asian for 1 (3%), and Hispanic/Latino for 8 (23%). Referenced to mothers of White children, being a mother of an AA [OR 0.05 (95% CI: 0.01-0.43)] or Asian [0.08 (0.01-0.75)] child was associated with lower odds of donation. Referenced to mothers delivering full term (≥37 weeks\'), mothers delivering <34 weeks showed higher odds [5.0 (1.5-17.5)] of donation. Conclusion: Relatively few bereaved mothers of children with indicators of MM exposure completed donation. The results suggest an opportunity to ensure bereaved mothers are uniformly informed and supported in donating.

We encountered an extremely low birth weight infant with breast milk-transmitted cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. To determine the transmission route, we conducted direct sequence analysis of two variable CMV genes, UL139, and UL146. When utilizing breast milk, the possibility of acquired CMV infection should be considered and tested for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is a condition associated with malnutrition that can progress to malabsorption and villous atrophy. Severe EED results in linear growth stunting, slowed neurocognitive development, and unresponsiveness to oral vaccines. Prenatal exposure to malnutrition and breast feeding by malnourished mothers replicates EED. Pups are characterized by deprivation of secretory IgA (SIgA) and altered development of the gut immune system and microbiota. Extracellular ATP (eATP) released by microbiota limits T follicular helper (Tfh) cell activity and SIgA generation in Peyer\'s patches (PPs). Administration of a live biotherapeutic releasing the ATP-degrading enzyme apyrase to malnourished pups restores SIgA levels and ameliorates stunted growth. SIgA is instrumental in improving the growth and intestinal immune competence of mice while they are continuously fed a malnourished diet. The analysis of microbiota composition suggests that amplification of endogenous SIgA may exert a dominant function in correcting malnourishment dysbiosis and its consequences on host organisms, irrespective of the actual microbial ecology.

In Brescia , a highly industrialized city in the Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) classified as a SIN (Contaminated Site of National Interest), a human biomonitoring study was carried out on breast milk of two groups of women residing in areas with presumably different levels of exposure to polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorodibenzofurans, and polychlorobiphenyls. This study was aimed at evaluating the possible difference between women living in Brescia and women living far from it but in the same Region. Between 2016 and 2018, 82 women were enrolled (41 \"exposed\" subjects and 41 \"not exposed\"), breast milk samples were collected, and a specific questionnaire was administered to the donors. Data obtained were processed by robust regression and Principal Component Factor Analysis. The differences in concentration between the two groups were significant for all the classes of analytes (except for PCDDs). The concentration increase rates from the not exposed to the exposed group resulted highly significant: some PCB congeners showed increase rates more than 1000 ng/g lb per one-unit change of the independent variable. Among the variables significantly associated with the observed concentrations, age showed the greatest influence, while BMI showed a counteracting effect. Consumption of vegetable oil and fruit resulted to possibly influence the chemicals body burden. For the not exposed group, the levels appear to be in line with the decreasing trend (2001-2018) observed for these contaminants in Italy.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of music-assisted kangaroo care, applied to mothers with premature babies in the intensive care unit on the amount of breast milk, the initiation time of breastfeeding, and the level of anxiety. Methods: The study was carried out with mothers whose premature babies were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit. The sample size of the study was 99 mothers. Results: 85.5% of the mothers were aged >35 years, 30.1% were high school graduates, 38.6% had equal income and expenses and 77.1% had a cesarean section. The state and trait anxiety levels of the mothers in the music assisted kangaroo care (MAKC), kangaroo care (KC), and control (C) groups decreased after the first day according to the follow-up times. The trait anxiety levels of the mothers in the MAKC group experienced on the first and sixth days were lower than those of the mothers in the KC and C groups, with the statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). It was found that the mothers in the MAKC group started breastfeeding earlier than those in the KC and C groups, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: A significant difference was found between the MAKC and KC groups and the control group in terms of an increase in the amount of milk, a decrease in trait anxiety levels, and early initiation of breastfeeding (p < 0.05).

Purpose: The World Health Organization\'s International Agency on Research for Cancer has determined that glyphosate is \"probably carcinogenic to humans.\" There is a great public interest to investigate whether glyphosate are detected in breast milk. Thus, the goal of this study was to assess the concentration of glyphosate and its main metabolite in breast milk. Materials and Methods: Liquid chromatography was performed at 25°C using a Luna NH2, 50 × 2 mm, 3⎛ m (Phenomenex) analytical column. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was collected using negative ionization mode. The calibration curve for glyphosate ranged from 10 to 250 ng/mL. The detection limit was 1 ng/mL. Results: Breast milk samples were collected from 74 women, which included vegans (n = 26), vegetarians (n = 22), and nonvegetarians (n = 26). One of the 74 milk samples contained a detectable concentration of glyphosate and an additional 7 were found to contain aminomethylphosphonic acid. Conclusions: In breast milk samples collected mainly from women residing in urban regions of the United States, glyphosate detection was rare. Consistently, breastfed infants have a low or minimal risk of being exposed to glyphosate through ingestion of mother\'s milk. It is possible that the presence/absence and/or level of concentration of milk glyphosate depend on a place of residency and time of breastfeeding vis-à-vis time of its agricultural application.

This scoping review aims to investigate longitudinal changes in minerals and vitamins concentrations in human milk among the Chinese population. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted using both English and Chinese databases. Data were extracted and categorized into six defined lactation stages. We found that the concentration of most minerals decreased throughout the lactation period, although calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) fluctuated slightly across lactation periods. Fat-soluble vitamins also showed a decline throughout the lactation period, while water-soluble vitamins exhibited an increasing trend. However, folic acid, biotin, and pantothenic acid demonstrated a downward trend. Overall, this review has identified the longitudinal changes in minerals and vitamins concentrations in human milk among the Chinese population. In order to conduct a more in-depth examination of maternal characteristics and nutritional factors of the composition of human milk, it is recommended to utilize standardized protocols for the collection and analysis of human milk samples.

The binding ratio of palmitic acid (PA) at the sn-2 position of triacylglycerols in infant formulas is lower than that in breast milk, resulting in higher levels of fecal PA. Even if the ratio is increased to 40-50%, fecal PA levels in formula-fed infants remain higher than those in breast-fed infants. In Japan, infant formulas with 50% or more of PA bound to sn-2 (high sn-2 PA milk) are commercially available; however, their effects on PA excretion have not been investigated. Therefore, this observational study aimed to preliminarily evaluate whether the feeding volume of high sn-2 PA milk is significantly associated with fecal total/soaped PA levels in newborns. Infant formulas were classified as high (≥50% of PA bound to sn-2) or low sn-2 (<50%) PA milk. Associations between feeding volume of high or low sn-2 PA milk and fecal PA levels were evaluated using multiple regression analysis models. The results showed that the feeding volume of low sn-2 PA milk was positively associated with fecal total/soaped PA levels, while there was no significant association between those of high sn-2 PA milk and fecal total/soaped PA levels. Our preliminary study suggests that high sn-2 PA milk may reduce increased fecal PA levels in formula-fed newborns.

Breast milk is a vital source of nutrition for breastfed infants, providing essential nutrients and elements but, in some cases, toxic ones. This is the first case-control study that investigated the elemental profile of breast milk samples collected from mothers residing in Matiari (Sindh), a region with insufficient industrial waste management, and its potential impact on infants\' anthropometrics. Precisely, 62 milk samples, including 42 cases and 20 controls, were analyzed using the ICP-MS technique. Overall, six elements showed significance between the two groups, arsenic (As) was present at 0.68 μg/L in cases and absent in controls, while lead (Pb) exhibited elevated concentrations in the case group at 4.56 μg/L compared to 0.25 μg/L in controls, well-known for their toxicity. Barium (Ba) and manganese (Mn) levels were also higher in cases, associated with reported health effects on child well-being. Essential elements molybdenum (Mo) and selenium (Se) were higher in the controls. Furthermore, the association of these metals with the child growth standards as per WHO guidelines was calculated. Linear regression analysis revealed As negatively associated with WAZ and WHZ scores, while Mo was positively associated with WAZ, WHZ, and HAZ scores. These findings highlight serious health concerns in the region, where toxic elements pervade drinking water and food sources. Immediate actions are imperative to maintain the wellness of future generations.

The breast milk composition includes a multitude of bioactive factors such as viable cells, lipids and proteins. Measuring the levels of specific proteins in breast milk plasma can be challenging because of the large dynamic range of protein concentrations and the presence of interfering substances. Therefore, most proteomic studies of breast milk have been able to identify under 1000 proteins. Optimised procedures and the latest separation technologies used in milk proteome research could lead to more precise knowledge of breast milk proteome. This study (n = 53) utilizes three different protein quantification methods, including direct DIA, library-based DIA method and a hybrid method combining direct DIA and library-based DIA. On average we identified 2400 proteins by hybrid method. By applying these methods, we quantified body mass index (BMI) associated variation in breast milk proteomes. There were 210 significantly different proteins when comparing the breast milk proteome of obese and overweight mothers. In addition, we analysed a small cohort (n = 5, randomly selected from 53 samples) by high field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS). FAIMS coupled with the Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer, which led to 41.7% higher number of protein identifications compared to Q Exactive HF mass spectrometer.