Breastfeeding Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breastfeeding, including details on breast feeding benefits, problems, alcohol, diet.

Ultrasonographic patterns of reproductive organs in infants fed soy formula: comparisons to infants fed breast milk and milk formula.

Gilchrist JM, Moore MB, Andres A, Estroff JA, Badger TM

Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if differences exist in hormone-sensitive organ size between infants who were fed soy formula (SF), milk formula (MF), or breast milk (BF). STUDY DESIGN: Breast buds, uterus, ovaries, prostate, and testicular volumes were assessed by ultrasonography in 40 BF, 41 MF, and 39 SF infants at age 4 months. RESULTS: There were no significant feeding group effects in anthropometric or body composition. Among girls, there were no feeding group differences in breast bud or uterine volume. MF infants had greater (P < .05) mean ovarian volume and greater (P < .01) numbers of ovarian cysts per ovary than did BF infants. Among boys, there were no feeding group differences in prostate or breast bud volumes. Mean testicular volume did not differ between SF and MF boys, but both formula-fed groups had lower volumes than BF infants. CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not support major diet-related differences in reproductive organ size as measured by ultrasound in infants at age 4 months, although there is some evidence that ovarian development may be advanced in MF-fed infants and that testicular development may be slower in both MF and SF infants as compared with BF. There was no evidence that feeding SF exerts any estrogenic effects on reproductive organs studied.

Published 28 January 2010 in J Pediatr, 156(2): 215-20.
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Articles on Breastfeeding published 19 January 2010:

Evaluation of the Missouri WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) breast-feeding peer counselling programme.   Public Health Nutr, 13(2): 229-37.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the peer counselling (PC) programme on breast-feeding initiation among participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Missouri, and to identify factors that facilitate breast-feeding initiation. DESIGN: We used the data from the 2006 Missouri Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System, Missouri Live Birth Records and the Missouri WIC programme to compare breast-feeding initiation rates between PC and ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Infant weight gain, duration of exclusive breast-feeding and childhood BMI - two similar follow-up cohorts.   Public Health Nutr, 13(2): 201-7.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the association between duration of exclusive breast-feeding (EBF), weight gain in infancy and childhood BMI in two populations with a long duration of EBF. DESIGN: Cohort study with follow-up in childhood. Breast-feeding status was reported monthly during infancy. Weight and length were measured at birth, 2, 6 and 12 months of age, as well as in childhood at 6 or 10 years of age. SETTING: Iceland and Denmark. SUBJECTS: Randomly selected healthy newborns from Denmark (n ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Breastfeeding published 29 December 2009:

Frequency of gastroenteritis and gastroenteritis-associated mortality with early weaning in HIV-1-uninfected children born to HIV-infected women in Malawi.   J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 53(1): 6-13.

BACKGROUND: We assessed gastroenteritis (GE) burden in 2 randomized trials conducted in Malawi to reduce postnatal HIV transmission before and after World Health Organization recommendations regarding exclusive breastfeeding for HIV-exposed infants were adopted. The 2 trials were the nevirapine/AZT (NVAZ, 2000-2003 with prolonged breastfeeding) and the Postexposure Prophylaxis to the Infant (PEPI, 2004-2007 with breastfeeding cessation by 6 months). METHODS: From NVAZ and PEPI trials data, GE ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Hospitalization and mortality among primarily nonbreastfed children during a large outbreak of diarrhea and malnutrition in Botswana, 2006.   J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 53(1): 14-9.

BACKGROUND: In 2006, a pediatric diarrhea outbreak occurred in Botswana, coinciding with heavy rains. Surveillance recorded a 3 times increase in cases and a 25 fold increase in deaths between January and March. Botswana has high HIV prevalence among pregnant women (33.4% in 2005), and an estimated 35% of all infants under the age of 6 months are not breastfed. METHODS: We followed all children <5 years old with diarrhea in the country's second largest referral hospital at the peak of the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Breastfeeding, mother-to-child HIV transmission, and mortality among infants born to HIV-Infected women on highly active antiretroviral therapy in rural Uganda.   J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 53(1): 28-35.

BACKGROUND: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) drastically reduces mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but where breastfeeding is the only safe infant feeding option, HAART for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission needs to be evaluated in relation to both HIV transmission and infant mortality. DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred and two > or = 18-year old women on HAART in rural Uganda who delivered one or more live infants between March 1, 2003 and January 1, 2007 were ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Breastfeeding published 22 December 2009:

Lactation and maternal measures of subclinical cardiovascular disease.   Obstet Gynecol, 115(1): 41-8.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between lactation and subclinical cardiovascular disease in a population free of clinical cardiovascular disease. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 297 women who reported at least one live birth on enrollment in the Study of Women Across the Nation-Heart Study. Participants were mothers aged 45-58 years who were free of clinical cardiovascular disease. History of lactation was self-reported. Electron beam tomography was used to assess ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Breastfeeding published 21 December 2009:

Mid-pregnancy androgen levels are negatively associated with breastfeeding.   Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 89(1): 87-94.

OBJECTIVE: Breastfeeding depends on endocrine changes during pregnancy. The association between gestational hormones and lactation has been sparsely investigated. Previously, androgens were used for lactation inhibition. We investigated a possible association between second trimester maternal androgen levels and breastfeeding. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: University hospital setting. POPULATION. Women from a random sample of pregnancies (n = 63) and from a group with an ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Breastfeeding published 16 December 2009:

Maturational changes in the feeding behaviour of infants - a comparison between breast-feeding and bottle-feeding.   Acta Paediatr, 99(1): 61-7.

AIM: To obtain a better understanding of the changes in feeding behaviour from 1 to 6 months of age. By comparing breast- and bottle-feeding, we intended to clarify the difference in longitudinal sucking performance. METHODS: Sucking variables were consecutively measured for 16 breast-fed and eight bottle-fed infants at 1, 3 and 6 months of age. RESULTS: For breast-feeding, number of sucks per burst (17.8 +/- 8.8, 23.8 +/- 8.3 and 32.4 +/- 15.3 times), sucking burst duration (11.2 +/- 6.1, 14.7 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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