BREASTMILK TAILOR-MADE FOR BABIES
In addition to endowing six global research centres, FLRF supports a variety of research projects that address specific questions, where the answers can have a positive impact on many.
Breastfeeding and Breast Milk – from Biochemistry to Impact, published by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation at Thieme in 2018, is an evidence-based reference book that provides a scientifically robust overview of key topics written by leading experts from a wide range of disciplines, including medicine, sociology, political science, culture and economics.
Featuring a wealth of evidence-based information for medical practitioners, LactaMap from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation and The University of Western Australia was developed to advance understanding of human lactation, ensure consistent care for breastfeeding mothers and their infants, and prevent dissemination of conflicting advice.
The publicly available lactation resource from The University of Western Australia and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation aims to create consistency and eliminate confusion arising from conflicting definitions for lactation terminology.
The ISRHML – Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Trainee Expansion Program (TEP) from the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, offers scholarships in two sizes to talented young researchers interested in entering or furthering their work in the field of breastmilk and breastfeeding.
This compendium of human milk banking standards and best practices to improve survival and long-term health for vulnerable infants was developed by a group of international experts under the leadership of FATH and its parent PATH, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
The INTERGROWTH-21st Preterm Postnatal Growth Standards and Feeding Protocol, coordinated by the University of Oxford and supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is striving to implement globally validated growth standards and feeding protocols for preterm infants, plus train healthcare providers in evidence-based feeding and monitoring practices in neonatal settings around the world.
What are the benefits – or risks – of giving fully breastfed HEU babies antibiotics until they are weaned? The University of KwaZulu-Natal, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is conducting a randomised control study to find out.
Goat’s rue, fenugreek, thistle and moringa are traditional, commonly employed herbs used to promote breastmilk production across cultures, yet little scientific data is available to support their efficacy or demonstrate possible side effects or toxicity. Thus, the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, supported by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, launched a probe to learn more and pave the way for further research into new treatment approaches.
Rush University Medical Center is updating and expanding a suite of educational materials for parents, healthcare providers and trainers, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation.
Dr. Barbara Orland from the Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is investigating the 300-year epistemological transition that changed the material perception of milk in society from the 17th-19th centuries.
The Yale School of Public Health, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, developed Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF): A Guide to Global Scale-Up to help countries make data–driven decisions to successfully scale up their breastfeeding programmes.
The University Children's Hospital Basel, in close cooperation with the University Hospital of Zurich, and with the support of three other Swiss hospitals and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is investigating how the mild induction of labour and the concomitant release of hormones prior to C-sections help infant primary adaptation, bonding and breastfeeding, and also mothers to initiate and maintain lactation.
The University of Western Australia, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is studying whether colostrum induces a developmental trajectory from day zero of postnatal life that is necessary for long-term immune health.
The Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine at the University of Zurich, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is working to ensure research in breastfeeding and breastmilk is conducted ethically, according to the highest standards.
Research by Aga Khan University and the Hospital for Sick Children, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is underway to identify the evidence-based practices which have proven most effective in encouraging breastfeeding during crises, to prevent acute malnutrition and save infants’ lives.
The aha! Swiss Allergy Centre, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, steered a project to help educate healthcare professionals and the general public about the important connection between breastfeeding and allergy prevention.
Professor W. Allan Walker, Conrad Taff Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, is investigating the mechanisms underlying breastmilk’s influence on the initial bacterial colonisation of newborns, and how these gut bacteria affect the development of a healthy immune system.
Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany, with support from the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation (FLRF), seek mechanistic evidence to form the basis of dietary recommendations for mothers before and during lactation.
The Foundation is committed to working together with local communities and supporting projects which might be less visible on a global scale, yet still make a strong local impact.