DEDICATED TO BREASTMILK
Please check here for the latest available information on COVID-19, breastfeeding and breastmilk, and vaccinations. We source it directly from global health experts, with the aim of giving families and health professionals access to trustworthy recommendations in a central location. Links will be reviewed and updated every two weeks.
Discover the latest in breastfeeding and breastmilk – from new, publicly available resources to critical research findings.
Our partners are leading experts in their fields, all working to educate and empower, and improve the health of mothers and babies worldwide. Learn more about how your patients, organisation or community can benefit from these science-driven advances.
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Scientists dove deep into Big (Twitter) Data to find out. What they learned could help health professionals and researchers communicate more effectively – essential to educating the public and protecting and promoting the health of all people, in all communities.
ISRHML and FLRF are recharging their annual grant offering for those who wish to enter or advance a career in human milk and lactation. Learn more and apply!
Scientists collaborating across China, South Korea and the US are bringing the world closer to understanding – and preventing – this devastating disease.
It‘s World Health Day and time to build a fairer, healthier world for everyone, everywhere. Breastfeeding is a crucial element in reaching this goal.
The UN Women’s vision of an equal future includes healthcare services that meet the needs of all women. We are excited to report that LactaHub is contributing with a resource to help health professionals meet the specific needs of lactating and breastfeeding women: LactaMedia – A Clinical Image Collection. The emerging, open access collection of educational photos and videos is appropriate for training, presenting and assisting patients.
Billions per year, researchers estimate. This new costing study in the International Breastfeeding Journal shows how expanding paid maternity leave is not only economically attractive, but has the potential to boost breastfeeding rates and save the lives of mothers and children.
… has just been published in MDPI Nutrients. Read on for fascinating insights from scientists exploring how interactions between the maternal gut and the breast, and then the breast and the infant gut, help program health for life.
In celebrating STEM women of yesterday, today and tomorrow, we asked 2 women the Foundation is honoured to work with to tell us what – or who – inspired them as girls. Here’s what they told us …
The Lancet has just published an open letter by global breastfeeding experts urging for a comprehensive approach to assessing vaccines for breastfeeding mothers … because women and their healthcare providers should not have to choose one over the other.
… the ‘indirect’ effects on women and children of living near armed conflicts. This just-published Lancet Series shines a light on top dangers and offers insights on key interventions. Conducted by BRANCH, the research was supported in part by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
Could inducing mild labor with oxytocin before an elective cesarean section trigger the release of hormones that help newborns breathe? Scientists at 8 hospitals in Switzerland and Germany are looking for answers, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The University of California San Diego School of Medicine is investigating how COVID-19 vaccines may not only benefit breastfeeding mothers, but also their breastfed infants, thanks to a USD 200,000 donation from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
Alive and Thrive and the Yale University Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) initiative teamed up to find out, since improving maternity protection could promote breastfeeding – a major driver of many Sustainable Development Goals.
Newborns weighing less than 1,500 grams are in danger of developing necrotising enterocolitis – a deadly intestinal disease caused by excess inflammation. Yet research on how breastmilk plus probiotics could prevent NEC is marching ahead, thanks to a group of scientists from the US and China.
Displacement, stress, maternal malnutrition, family casualties, free distribution of breastmilk substitutes: all compromise breastfeeding where it is urgently needed to protect children from malnutrition and infection. Research findings from Aga Khan University and the Hospital for Sick Children, supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, have just been published in BMJ Open.
The International Breastfeeding Journal has published an open-access analysis outlining a multi-sector approach to further improving national breastfeeding practices, conducted by a group of BBF researchers with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
Findings from the collaborative study launched by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and supported in part by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation have just been published in this top ranking peer reviewed medical journal.
Rush University Medical Center, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, launches PROVIDE – A Training Compendium on Providing Mothers’ Own Milk in NICU Settings, to help healthcare professionals bring this lifesaving intervention to infants in intensive care worldwide.
Are in interested in learning how to bring lifesaving mothers' own milk to infants in intensive care? Register to explore PROVIDE – A Training Compendium on Providing Mothers’ Own Milk in NICU Settings, during World Breastfeeding Week.
Researchers analysing the flow of breastfeeding information on Twitter uncover promising potential. Details of their study, led by the University of California San Diego and supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, have just been published in Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Urgently needed findings on breastmilk from infected women have just been shared by the research team led by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and supported in part by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation. Details are in a preprint on medRxiv.
Aga Khan University and the Hospital for Sick Children, supported in part by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, report national resiliency despite the ongoing unrest that has compromised the delivery of health services, and offer recommendations for improvement. Details are in Conflict and Health, as part of a series by members and partners of the BRANCH Consortium (Bridging Research and Action in Conflict Settings for the Health of Women and Children), made available for open access by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The June 2020 WHO Bulletin outlines a 5-step, standardized method, developed by the Yale School of Public Health with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The BMC journal Conflict and Health has just published details on maternal and child health in Pakistan, conducted with researchers from Aga Khan University and funded in part by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation. It is one of a series of case studies conducted by members and partners of the BRANCH Consortium (Bridging Research and Action in Conflict Settings for the Health of Women and Children) and made available for open access by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Global Health Network and the Family Larsson Rosenquist Foundation launch LactaHub: an open access knowledge platform featuring scientific and evidence-based information on breastfeeding and breastmilk for health professionals.
The Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation shares its perspective on the importance of MMS throughout the first 1,000-day period, in the latest special report from Sight and Life.
‘Distance, Diffusion, and the Role of Social Media in a Time of COVID Contagion’ – the open access article illustrates the dissemination of recent information related to breastfeeding and COVID-19 via Twitter.
Families with infants in neonatal intensive care units can now access advice on COVID-19 and breastmilk in seven languages, thanks to researchers at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.
The University of California San Diego and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation launch critical research into breastmilk and COVID-19.
With peers in the UK, the US and the WHO, the director of the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine outlines ways additional research could improve public health.
Neonatal healthcare settings in Buenos Aires and Lodwar, Kenya are now getting acquainted with the IP21 Project. Designed to promote optimal postnatal growth of preterm infants until 6 months of age, the international preterm growth standards and evidence-based feeding recommendations are coordinated by the University of Oxford in collaboration with Harvard University, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
Researchers from Boston and Beijing have just published their findings in an open access article, funded in part by a grant from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation to the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School.
INTERPRACTICE-21st (IP21) is an effort coordinated by the University of Oxford in collaboration with Harvard University, supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation. IP21 introduces globally validated resources designed specifically to underpin the health and development of infants born preterm.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has published a study conducted by The University of Western Australia and supported in part by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation indicating breastmilk may help shield infants from egg allergies.
The International Breastfeeding Journal has released results from Samoa’s implementation of the evidence-based BBF initiative, developed by the Yale School of Public Health with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, in an open-access article.
For the first time, study results indicate that mothers may be able to naturally vaccinate their breastfeeding infants against one of the world’s most deadly contagious diseases. The study was conducted by The University of Western Australia with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation congratulate 4 new career development scholarship awardees.
The Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence awards a new round of grants totalling USD 250,000 to University of California San Diego researchers.
The Lancet Global Health has just published findings from a randomised controlled trial conducted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, investigating the effect of antibiotics on the morbidity and mortality of breastfed HEU infants in South Africa.
Findings from a randomised controlled study conducted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, have the potential to change the current practice of giving fully breastfed HIV-exposed but uninfected infants antibiotics to protect them from childhood infectious illnesses and mortality.
To find out, researchers surveyed both teachers and students at various schools in Lebanon to help design a suitable educational curriculum. Their findings have been published in 2 open-access articles, supported by the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence at the University of California, San Diego.
The University of Zurich has named Professor Giancarlo Natalucci as inaugural chairholder of the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Center for Neurodevelopment, Growth and Nutrition of the Newborn – endowed by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation and designed to accommodate complex, globally focused research over long-term horizons.
The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML), supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, awards Trainee Travel Funds from Trainee Expansion Program (TEP) of up to CHF 10,000 to two young talents to advance their current research into breastmilk.
The Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation and The University of Western Australia launch LactaMap – a clinical resource to help medical practitioners caring for breastfeeding mothers and their infants.
Fudan University, Tongji University and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation launch a hub for globally-focused investigations into critical questions surrounding breastfeeding-related physiology and best practices linked to the long-range health of mothers and children – the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Shanghai Breastfeeding Research Center.
Strengthening Human Milk Banking: A Resource Toolkit for Establishing and Integrating Human Milk Banks has just been released by a group of international experts under the leadership of FATH and its parent PATH, and with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, to improve survival for vulnerable infants.
Five researchers secure USD 50,000-seed grants from the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (LRF MOMI CORE), University of California San Diego to launch unique investigations into breastmilk and human lactation.
Professor W. Allan Walker, Conrad Taff Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, launches an investigation into breastmilk’s protective mechanisms. The aim: to reduce the number of children affected by allergic inflammatory and chronic diseases.
To ensure breastmilk and breastfeeding research is conducted ethically, the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine at the University of Zurich, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, initiates the development of ethical evaluation standards and a compendium of questions to aid scientists and reviewers in their work.
Dr Katharina Lichtner, Managing Director of Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, speaks on the panel “Growth and Resilience: Changing the Paradigm to Save Mothers and Children” at the 10th World Health Summit, and attends Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2018.
The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation announce 2018 awardees of the Trainee Expansion Program (TEP), and open application process for 2019 TEP scholarships during 19th ISRHML Conference in Kanagawa, Japan.
The University of Oxford initiates research on the endocrinology of human lactation – laying the foundation for a permanent research hub at the Oxford Women’s Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, to be endowed by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation attends two important events during the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly: UHC Conference and ICM UNGA Midwifery Champions Reception.
Breastfeeding and Breast Milk – from Biochemistry to Impact, just published by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation at Thieme, explores the multifaceted, multidisciplinary and complex world of breastfeeding and breastmilk.
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, begins a study on the connections between maternal metabolism and dietary composition, and an infant’s metabolome, growth and health outcomes for evidence-based dietary recommendations.
Rush University Medical Center, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is removing barriers to mothers’ own milk (MOM) – a vital resource for preterm and other babies hospitalised in neonatal intensive care units.
What is a breastfeed? The definition of a breastfeed varies widely and this affects both our understanding of its function and our medical care for breastfeeding. The University of Western Australia and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation launch LactaPedia to end confusion in the language of lactation, which includes ‘breastfeeding’ and ‘breastmilk’.
New research aims to save the lives of babies living through conflict and in refugee situations by helping their mothers continue breastfeeding. The study, financed by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is being conducted by the Aga Khan University in Pakistan and the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada.
The University Children’s Hospital Basel, in close cooperation with the University Hospital of Zurich and with support from the University Hospital Basel, Cantonal Hospital Baden, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, investigates whether the mild induction of labour before caesarean sections helps infant primary adaptation, bonding and lactation, resulting in improved neonatal and maternal outcomes.
What empowers women to breastfeed? What obstacles to successful breastfeeding do women, families or even entire communities encounter? What are the causal effects of breastfeeding on child development and family dynamics? Researchers will tackle these and other consequential questions at the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Center for Economics of Breastfeeding (LRF CEB), established by the University of Zurich and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
Eight countries and counting have implemented Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF): A Guide to Global Scale-Up, to increase breastfeeding rates around the world. Developed by the Yale School of Public Health, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The aha! Swiss Allergy Centre, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, expands education measures for healthcare professionals and the general public about breastfeeding’s leading role in allergy prevention.
The University of Western Australia, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, launches a study to discover how colostrum, the first fluid produced by the mammary gland, impacts a newborn’s gut immune system development and health in adulthood.
The University of Basel, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, delves into the perception of milk over the 17th-19th centuries.
Helpful or harmful? These are the questions the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is asking about four herbal galactagogues commonly used by breastfeeding mothers: goat’s rue, fenugreek, thistle and moringa.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, launches a study to determine whether fully breastfed HEU infants need antibiotics to protect them from childhood infectious illnesses and mortality.
The University of California San Diego and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation have established the first-ever interdisciplinary research hub looking toward breastmilk for answers to these questions and more: the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research.
INTERGROWTH-21st Preterm Postnatal Growth Standards, coordinated by the University of Oxford with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, produces an expanding suite of resources – all aimed at improving preterm infant health outcomes globally.
The International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation join forces for the Trainee Expansion Program – an international career development campaign offering scholarships to young researchers interested in launching or advancing their careers.
The University of Western Australia is home to a new chair dedicated to human lactation, breastfeeding and breastmilk, following an endowment from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The birth of each baby is a magical moment, a miracle of new life. Nature has provided well, furnishing mothers with the opportunity to nourish their infants with their own milk – a natural, life-giving gift. Breastmilk is unrivalled in nutritional completeness and benefits for both mothers and children. There is simply no substitute. Breastmilk is not just nutrition for newborns, it is also a virtual umbilical cord that provides babies with everything needed for optimal development after birth.
This is why the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation dedicates all of its energy and activities to supporting and promoting breastfeeding and breastmilk.
We work with leading experts to improve understanding of the factors empowering women to breastfeed, and facilitate the creation of publicly available, sustainable resources and educational tools that help healthcare providers, governments, communities and families foster environments that advance breastfeeding in practice.
The FLRF vision is a world in which every child is granted an optimum start in life through the benefits of breastmilk.
Please join the Foundation as we pursue this vision with wholehearted passion and long-term commitment: a world in which every child is granted an optimum start in life through the benefits of breastmilk.
Check here for a selection of freely available evidence-based resources. Developed by or in collaboration with our partners at world-leading organisations, universities and research centres, these valuable tools and educational materials are designed to cultivate thriving, sustainable breastfeeding environments and robust maternal and child health programmes.
LactaHub – A resource for evidence-based breastfeeding intelligence
LactaHub is an open access knowledge platform featuring scientific and evidence-based information on breastfeeding and breastmilk. Created with The Global Health Network, LactaHub is intended to enable health professionals, decision-makers and researchers to be more effective in their daily work. Here, scientific and evidence-based knowledge about breastfeeding and breastmilk will be brought together in a structured, practice-oriented manner. All content will be reviewed and verified for quality by an independent scientific editorial board, and made freely available.
LactaMap - An online lactation care support system
LactaMap is an online, evidence-based lactation care support system developed with The University of Western Australia to help healthcare providers resolve breastfeeding challenges and ensure consistent care for breastfeeding mothers and their infants. The free resource features over 100 clinical practice guidelines, 20 information sheets that can be printed or emailed to patients, and LactaPedia – a glossary of lactation for science and medicine. LactaPedia is a go-to source for standardised, research-based terminology for lactation, breastfeeding and breastmilk, developed by The University of Western Australia with sponsorship from FLRF.
LactaMedia – A Clinical Image Collection on LactaHub
Newly updated and still growing, this open access resource for health professionals is ready for visitors at its new home on LactaHub. LactaMedia contains 100-plus educational photos and videos of lactating women, in some cases with their breastfeeding infants. Each image depicts a specific lactation or breastfeeding topic. The collection is International Board Certified Lactation Consultant reviewed and approved and is appropriate for training and presenting or when assisting breastfeeding patients. All images have been compiled with the help of various practitioners and produced in strict accordance with ethical and legal requirements for medical photography in which patients are involved. Images are exclusively for nonprofit, educational, medical or scientific use.
Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly: A Guide to Global Scale-Up
Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) is an evidence-based programme from the Yale School of Public Health targeting data-driven, concrete measures countries can take to sustainably increase breastfeeding rates. Eight countries have now successfully implemented the BBF process: England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Myanmar and Samoa, along with pioneers Mexico and Ghana. Led by Professor Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, BBF is expected to continue expanding to other countries, such as China and Mozambique.
Breastfeeding and Breast Milk – from Biochemistry to Impact
This evidence-based reference book presents a holistic, scientifically robust overview of key topics written by experts from a range of disciplines, including medicine, sociology, political science, culture and economics. Published in 2018 by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation at Thieme, Breastfeeding and Breast Milk explores factors surrounding the influence of breastfeeding and breastmilk on children’s health and development, and includes the LactaPedia glossary of lactation for science and medicine. A valuable resource for decision-makers and health professionals alike, it is available from the publisher or as an open-access ebook on LactaHub.
INTERGROWTH-21st Preterm Postnatal Growth Standards and Feeding Protocol
The INTERGROWTH-21st Preterm Postnatal Growth Standards and Feeding Protocol, coordinated by the University of Oxford, are globally validated growth standards, feeding protocols, clinical tools and practical training materials created to improve preterm infant health outcomes globally. The package has been produced by the International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century – a global, multidisciplinary network of more than 300 researchers and clinicians from 27 institutions in 18 countries worldwide led and coordinated by José Villar and Stephen Kennedy of the University of Oxford; distribution and training is being supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
PROVIDE – A Training Compendium on Providing Mothers’ Own Milk in NICU Settings
Produced by Rush University Medical Center, the PROVIDE Training Compendium is an open access, evidence-based resource designed to help healthcare professionals implement lifesaving mothers’ own milk feeding practices for infants in intensive care worldwide. It covers the essentials of MOM feeding and lactation care that are specific to NICUs. Included will be:
• Over 40 videos featuring staff, infants and families in live NICU settings, accompanied by evidence as well as clear, step by step guidance.
• Over 20 information sheets appropriate for NICU staff, trainers and families presented in a fact-based, straightforward manner with illustrative artwork.
A Resource Toolkit for Establishing and Integrating Human Milk Banks
Compiled by a group of international experts, A Resource Toolkit for Establishing and Integrating Human Milk Banks is a compendium of standards and best practices that communities can follow to set up and operate safe, high-quality and sustainable human milk banks – a lifesaving alternative for babies that lack access to their own mothers’ milk. The compendium can be used to guide the implementation of human milk banks as integrated programmes within existing newborn and nutrition programming, and consequently, improve survival and long-term health for vulnerable infants.
aha! Swiss Allergy Centre
The aha! Swiss Allergy Centre offers a wealth of educational information about the causes, prevention and treatment of allergies and intolerances, and breastfeeding’s leading role in allergy prevention. Resources for healthcare professionals and the general public are available, covering topics such as allergies/intolerances, asthma, eczema/skin reactions.