Journal of Human Lactation - online first articles

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Breastfeeding is strongly promoted by health authorities, but there is little research on whether health professionals provide best-practice care for women experiencing mastitis/breast abscess.Research Aim:To explore management of mastitis/...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is recommended, but breastfeeding safety data is insufficient for several medications.Aim:To determine if mothers treated with chronic medications are less likely to breastfeed.Methods:For this secondary ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:When organizations are certified through the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, health care providers implement various policies that are intended to support long-term and exclusive breastfeeding. Despite the availability of evidence to support ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Breastfeeding provides numerous benefits for mothers and infants, but there are disparities in breastfeeding rates by race and ethnicity in the United States.Research Aim:Our study aimed to identify the extent to which Baby Friendly Hospital ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Indonesia is a middle-income country in Southeast Asia in which 2,394 disasters were recorded in 2022 alone, with a total loss of 178,367 lives. In 2018 governments at the World Health Assembly resolved to improve emergency planning using ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Hydrotherapy is a complementary and alternative method in childbirth widely used to reduce labor pain and stress. The birth process significantly influences levels of β-endorphin in human milk. However, the relationship between hydrotherapy ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Human milk-feeding benefits infants and parents. Exclusive human milk (EHM) feeding is recommended for infants younger than 6 months; however, many U.S. infants do not receive this recommendation. Documented disparities exist between White and ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
BackgroundSupplementary feeding, colostrum or, in some countries, commercial milk formula, is given to newborns of women with Type 1 diabetes to prevent neonatal hypoglycemia. Few studies have explored the content of colostrum from women with Type 1 ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Breastfeeding self-efficacy among both mothers and fathers is critical in enhancing exclusive breastfeeding rates. However, the interrelationship between maternal and paternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and their determinants remains unknown....

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Elaine Petitat-Côté was born in Canada and has lived for the greatest part of her life in Geneva. She has consistently worked with development, health, and women’s organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), advocating for a public health ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Ankyloglossia, or limited tongue mobility due to a restrictive sublingual frenulum, can complicate breastfeeding. Treatment typically involves a frenotomy, a procedure that cuts the restrictive tissue parallel to the tongue.Research Aim:To ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Maintaining Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) standards within a complex healthcare system presents unique challenges. This case study from a regional perinatal center in the northeast United States details the design and implementation of a ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:The staff of maternity hospitals play an essential role in the start of breastfeeding. This study assessed specific aspects of breastfeeding promotion in German hospitals using the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:The staff of maternity hospitals play an essential role in the start of breastfeeding. This study assessed specific aspects of breastfeeding promotion in German hospitals using the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).Research Aim:To identify specific hospital practices and structures that are in compliance with the recommendations and those that still need to be improved.Method:A cross-sectional survey and descriptive analysis was conducted in 109 German hospitals. This web-based questionnaire examined the structural conditions and usual handling of breastfeeding support. Recommendations were reported using sub-criteria.Results:The implementation of the sub-criteria ranged from less than 25% to more than 90%. Hospitals were more likely to have a breastfeeding policy (85.3%, n = 93) than a breastfeeding coordinator (73.4%, n = 80). Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth and early breastfeeding initiation were implemented more frequently after a vaginal (89.9%, n = 98 and 71.6%, n = 78) than after Cesarean delivery (45.9%, n = 50 and 54.1%, n = 59). Additional feeding of fluids was usually restricted to a medical indication (70.6%, n = 77), however, the decision to feed formula was rarely made by hospital staff alone (27.5%, n = 30). Large hospitals (> 1000 births/year) had a written breastfeeding policy and a breastfeeding coordinator more frequently than smaller hospitals (p < 0.01, Fisher’s exact test).Conclusion:The use of sub-criteria of WHO recommendations helped identify critical parts of breastfeeding promotion in hospitals, providing concrete starting points for targeted interventions. This differentiated approach could be promising for future analyses of breastfeeding promotion.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
The term “weaning” is used heterogeneously in scientific and gray literature, with no commonly agreed-upon definition. Weaning can describe the gradual transition in the infant diet, usually from milk feedings to complementary foods, but it is also ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
The term “weaning” is used heterogeneously in scientific and gray literature, with no commonly agreed-upon definition. Weaning can describe the gradual transition in the infant diet, usually from milk feedings to complementary foods, but it is also commonly used to describe any gradual transition between milks, foods, or feeding modalities. In an epidemiological context, it may also refer to changing breastfeeding rates within a cohort. The meaning of weaning has changed over time and may vary by the scientific assumptions applied to this period of human development. For these reasons, we propose that investigators avoid using the term weaning, and substitute it with more precise terminology. We present a series of proposed standard terms with corresponding definitions to guide more precise and accurate reporting of the various potential meanings of the term in the scientific literature. The objective is to improve reporting and reproducibility of research in the field of breastfeeding and human lactation.