BREASTMILK - MORE THAN JUST NUTRITION
Infectious diseases cause over one third of all child deaths under age five. Could microbial antigen in breastmilk activate a newborn’s immune system, helping to build long-term protection against common and deadly infections?
Two types of TEP grants – offering up to USD $100,000 or up to USD $10,000 – are now open to early career researchers and students in human milk and lactation. This is one way to answer the 2022 World Breastfeeding Week call to ‘Step up for Breastfeeding: Education and Support’.
Researchers are looking closely at how breastmilk lipids and lipid metabolites may protect infants into adulthood from obesity, type 2 diabetes, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and resulting non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – diseases predicted to contribute to 75% of deaths worldwide by 2030.
The Trainee Expansion Program (TEP) is an international professional development initiative from ISRHML and FLRF that offers two types of grants annually to scientists seeking to enter or advance a career in human milk and lactation.
Are you involved in health or breastfeeding research or implementation? You might find this Journal of Medical Ethics blog post helpful. From the Ethics in Health and Breastfeeding Research Webinar Series, offering practical insights and guidance on ethics application from international experts working in diverse health settings.
A pilot study just uncovered differences in gut metabolites between preterm babies born to mothers with and without asthma. It could lay the groundwork for identifying children in neonatal intensive care units who are vulnerable to allergy and asthma – and for developing interventions to reduce the risk.
We are delighted to invite you to a free Forum for Global Health Ethics Webinar on 13 April 2022 – Offering Financial Incentives to Participants in Health and Breastfeeding Research.
‘Gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow’ is this year’s theme, and we are celebrating contributions from women leading the charge. We asked Dr Alecia-Jane Twigger, a scientist we are privileged to engage with, about her work to improve maternal and infant health. Her story is inspiring …
How did England, Scotland and Wales implement the BBF evidence-based policy toolbox? And which policy improvement recommendations to enable stronger breastfeeding environments resulted? Click ‘Read more’ below for details, just published in a special issue of Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Please join the free webinar on LactaHub for a tour and conversation on the ethics principles compiled in EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions.
Returning to work. Which is why this just-published analysis of breastfeeding policies at 14 workplaces in Mexico could serve as a guide for creating breastfeeding-friendly work environments. Researchers talked to mothers, managers and other personnel, identifying three contextual factors as the most effective to overcoming this barrier …
Brazil and Ghana just found out, thanks to a recent costing study published in the International Journal for Equity in Health. In each country, the estimated annual amount is a fraction of a percent of GDP.
This year’s theme highlights equity, diversity and inclusion, and aims to recognise women and girls as agents of change. We asked Josephine Agyeman-Duah, PhD candidate and change agent we are honoured to collaborate with, how she makes change happen. This is what she said …
Scientists have found a new way to see how human breast tissue changes during lactation – by looking at mammary cells in breastmilk. What they saw could aid in understanding milk production and how this impacts long-term breast cancer risk. Their groundbreaking work has just been published in Nature Communications.
This new study supporting the safety of breastfeeding and breastmilk from women with COVID-19 has just been published in Nature’s Pediatric Research.
Keen to increase national breastfeeding rates, the Scottish Government launched the evidence-based Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly process to find out how. Here is what they discovered.
Pregnant women with Group B Streptococcus often take antibiotics to protect their newborns from bacterial infections that can cause preterm birth, serious disease and even death. Yet researchers have found human milk oligosaccharides may be just as effective – without the side effects.
EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions, is here and ready to streamline research processes. Built by the University of Zurich, EFBRI can help safeguard the rights and dignity of everyone involved in breastfeeding and lactation research.
First came collaboration, then came innovation. A research project fostered by MOMI CORE could forever change how human milk oligosaccharides – crucial for infant development – are assessed at the point of care.
Breastfeeding and Breast Milk – from Biochemistry to Impact: the breastfeeding reference book by 30 leading experts is now available in German on LactaHub.
Thanks to a USD 6.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine will launch a collaborative Center of Excellence in Therapeutics to study the effects of maternal antibiotic use on breastmilk and infant health.
Researchers measured the quantitative supply of these micronutrients – crucial for metabolism, immunity and brain development – to breastfed infants during a critical developmental window to find out. Their findings published open access offer an opportunity to address two global public health challenges: stunting and iron deficiency anemia.
Babies exposed to allergens via breastmilk may benefit from immune system ‘instruction’ that prevents allergies from developing, according to global research led by the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Centre for Immunology and Breastfeeding at The University of Western Australia and the Telethon Kids Institute.
A novel study led by the University of Regensburg has isolated the critical hormones that help newborns transition successfully from intra-uterine to extra-uterine life … the findings may surprise you.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Peter Hartmann, who died peacefully on 12 August, 2021.
It’s World Breastfeeding Week, and this year’s theme is ‘Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility’. This is why we and ISRHML are offering research grants for early career academics in human milk and lactation.
Nearly half the global workforce is female, and employers are increasingly seeking ways to accommodate working women who wish to breastfeed their children. A new review examining what makes an intervention successful (or not) could point the way forward.
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.