Journal of Human Lactation - online first articles

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Birthmark Doula Collective, a cooperative that provides doula and lactation services in the Greater New Orleans area, mounted an emergency response after two Category 4 storms: Hurricane Laura (2020) and Hurricane Ida (2021). The response included activating a no-cost emergency perinatal and infant feeding hotline. Both disasters coincided with a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Louisiana.Research Aim:The aim of this study is to understand how an emergency perinatal and infant feeding hotline supported infant and young child feeding in emergencies during hurricanes in Louisiana.Method:This study used a cross-sectional, retrospective qualitative design in a population with low breastfeeding rates. We conducted a content analysis of 97 hotline call logs from Hurricanes Laura and Ida, focus groups with lactation support providers who staffed the hotline during either storm (n = 5), and interviews with mothers who called during Hurricane Ida (n = 2). Focus groups and interviews lasted 30 and 60 minutes, respectively. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques.Results:Call logs revealed infant feeding needs (e.g., mastitis, low milk supply, relactation, and infant formula requests) and non-infant feeding needs (e.g., infant supplies, perinatal and infant care referrals, shelter information). Infant formula was the most requested supply during both hurricanes. Maternal participants discussed family vulnerabilities during Hurricane Ida. Staff described training and strategies to provide support while maintaining their own well-being.Conclusion:Providing a free emergency hotline service is one way to support pregnant and postpartum people and their families seeking infant feeding advice, supplies, and support in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Professor Fiona Dykes is Professor Emerita of Maternal and Infant Health at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom (UCLAN). Fiona has a particular interest in the global, sociocultural, and political influences upon infant and young child feeding practices; her methodological expertise is in ethnography and other qualitative research methods. She founded the Maternal and Infant Nutrition and Nurture Unit (MAINN) in 2000 which she led until she retired from her full-time professorship in 2020. Fiona established the associated MAINN Conference in 2007. The MAINN conference is a 3 day, international, peer reviewed event held bi-annually in the United Kingdom and, more recently, in alternate years overseas (Sydney, Australia; Falun, Dalarna, Sweden; and Florida, United States). The conference draws together key researchers in the field of infant and young child feeding from around the world. Fiona was a founding member of the journal Maternal and Child Nutrition. She is author of Breastfeeding in Hospital: Mothers, Midwives and the Production Line (Routledge) and co-author, with Dr Tanya Cassidy, of Banking on Milk: An Ethnography of Donor Human Milk Relations (Routledge). She is also joint editor of several books including Infant and Young Child Feeding: Challenges to Implementing a Global Strategy (Wiley-Blackwell) and Ethnographic Research in Maternal and Child Health (Routledge). This interview was conducted on April 20, 2023, by Dr. Tanya Cassidy, and is based on a verbatim transcription and edited for readability.TC = Tanya Cassidy; FD = Fiona Dykes

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Understanding the motivational factors that influence breastfeeding behavior is critical for addressing suboptimal breastfeeding outcomes. Self-determination theory has been used as a framework to understand these factors.Research Aim:The aim of this article is to identify and critically review breastfeeding instruments derived from self-determination theory and their subsequent uses in the literature.Method:This critical review was guided by Grant and Booth’s typological description. Eligibility criteria included full-text, peer-reviewed original instrument development and validation articles, written in the English language without limitation to specific years. Articles describing the use of the eligible instruments were also included. There were 164 articles identified initially, and four instruments were included in the final sample. Finally, five articles, including subsequent uses of the instruments were critically analyzed and an overview, assessment of validation, and analysis of subsequent use of each instrument is presented.Results:All instruments examine the degree of autonomy underlying breastfeeding motivation. The extent and quality of validation varied. Two instruments have been used in subsequent studies; one was adapted and translated into Turkish and used in three other studies, and another was used in full in one subsequent use and in part in another study. Three of four were initially developed for prenatal administration.Conclusions:Instruments derived from self-determination theory hold promise in exploring the autonomy underlying breastfeeding motivations. Researchers who wish to use or adapt these instruments should consider the instruments’ domains, validity, and administration. New measures are needed to explore other constructs from self-determination theory related to breastfeeding.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies exist in human milk expressed by lactating parents after vaccination. In the existing research, the effects of vaccine types on human milk are inconsistent.Research Aim:This study aims to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing observational studies to compare the positive rates of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in human milk according to mRNA and adenovector-based vaccination.Methods:PubMed, Web of Science, Elsevier Science Direct and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for relevant articles published from December 30, 2019 to February 15, 2023. Observational studies were considered eligible provided they reported data on SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in human milk. The risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions (ROBINS-I) tool, the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were used to assess risk of bias. Seven studies, including 511 lactating participants, were included in this review and meta-analysis.Results:The positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgA is higher in mRNA vaccine groups than in adenovector-based vaccine groups (OR = 4.80, 95% CI [3.04, 7.58], p < 0.001). The positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgG was higher in mRNA vaccines than in adenovector-based vaccines.Conclusions:Compared to adenovector-based vaccines, mRNA vaccines present a higher positivity rate of IgA and IgG in human milk after vaccination. In other words, mRNA vaccinations may offer breastfed children a higher level of protection than adenovector-based vaccinations. Further high-quality data is still required to substantiate these findings.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
The World Health Organization recommends assessing compliance with key clinical practices of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI; Steps 3–9) using birthing women’s self-reports. Globally, compliance is mainly assessed using health staff reports, and the use of women’s self-reports in selected countries has deviated from the Global Standards for the BFHI. Therefore, we aimed to provide insight into the appropriate method of incorporating women’s self-reports in assessing compliance with Steps 3–9 of the BFHI. We developed questions and coding algorithms for assessing compliance with Steps 3–9 based on Global Standards for BFHI compliance, and implemented them via a cross-sectional survey of 302 women who gave birth to a live baby in Sri Lankan hospitals. Compliance with specific practices within each of Steps 3–9 and overall compliance with each step were described as percentages. Compliance with specific practices and each BFHI Step ranged from 15.9%–100% and 7.0%–100%, respectively. Our findings particularly emphasize the potentially enhanced usefulness and robustness of assessing all specific practices within BFHI key clinical steps and not focusing only on one practice within a step, to derive more useful health service guidance globally for capturing BFHI compliance and its impact on breastfeeding outcomes. This method could be translated across multiple settings globally. It would enable more specific identification of care advancements required by health services to improve the effectiveness of breastfeeding support and address the prevailing undervaluing and under-use of women’s experiential data to evaluate and guide health service improvement.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Breastfeeding is a parenting practice that combines close intimate contact with the opportunity to be sensitive and responsive to the infant, and may have direct and indirect relations with infant attachment. However, researchers have produced inconsistent findings, suggesting there may be other mechanisms involved. Coparenting may play a significant role, as it has been consistently associated with mother–infant relationships.Research aims:The aims of this study were to examine: (1) whether breastfeeding would be directly associated with infant–mother attachment; (2) whether this association was also indirect, through mothers’ quality of caregiving; and (3) whether partners’ coparenting support moderates breastfeeding’s indirect association with attachmentMethods:This was a prospective, longitudinal study that drew data from a larger NIH-funded study on sleep and family relationships (R01HD052809). Mothers reported on their feeding practices and coparenting relationships. Independent observations were used to assess mothers’ emotional availability toward infants. A separate team of observers assessed infant–mother attachment.Results:Exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months, and longer duration of any breastfeeding across the 1st year, were directly associated with more secure infant–mother attachment. These associations were also indirect, through maternal emotional availability. Coparenting was a significant moderator, such that the influence of longer breastfeeding duration on improved emotional availability, and, in turn, on more secure attachment, was significant only for mothers who perceived coparenting quality to be low.Conclusion:Findings highlighted the importance of breastfeeding on both the quality of mothering and infant attachment, but also emphasized that coparenting support may be particularly important for mothers who are unable to breastfeed.

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.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
The remarkable world-changing growth of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (globally over 35,000 IBCLCs in 2023), as the internationally recognized lactation professional since Chele Marmet conceptualized the field in 1977, demonstrates its importance for society and breastfeeding dyads. The early 1980s was a seminal time in the development of lactation care as a allied health field with specialized knowledge, study, and certification. Chele Marmet played a significant role as an innovator and activist during all these major changes. In this interview, she details these historic events, which she is elaborating further in her upcoming memoir.Although the terms LC and lactation professional have commonly been used to refer to those working clinically with breastfeeding families, in this article both terms refer only to the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). JHL has a policy not to use the term LC (Dodgson, 2016, 2020); our rationale is that this term is currently too vague and is often misused by those with less education and experience than IBCLCs. However, we have used LC in this article at times when referring to lactation professionals prior to the development of the international board examination. This article is the second part of the interview; Part I was published in the previous JHL issue (February 2014). This interview has been transcribed with minor editing for ease of reading. (CM = Chele Marmet, JD = Joan Dodgson)

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Prior research has explored the association between women’s employment status and breastfeeding at the individual level, however; a notable gap in scholarly inquiry exists regarding the relationship between labor market performance and breastfeeding at the population level.Research Aim:The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between labor market performance and breastfeeding prevalence in the United States.Methods:This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the association between labor market performance and the prevalence of breastfeeding. Our analysis is conducted at the state level using data published up to late 2021 from the Current Population Survey and the National Immunization Survey. The first dataset was used to construct aggregate and sex-specific state level indicators of labor market performance for both males and females. The second dataset supplied the proportion of mothers breastfeeding for the corresponding birth cohort from each state.Results:Higher average weekly hours worked by females in the year before giving birth was associated with a lower prevalence of breastfeeding, but employment rates among females did not significantly affect breastfeeding prevalence. Among males, current employment rates were positively associated with breastfeeding prevalence; however, no significant relationship was observed between breastfeeding prevalence and average weekly work hours worked.Conclusion:Sex-specific labor market performance may play a role in breastfeeding decisions and the timing of labor market performance relative to childbirth is important. Furthermore, these results highlight that employment rates and hours worked might be associated with child health through breastfeeding prevalence.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Mothers commonly experience pain, fatigue, sleep disruption, and breastfeeding problems after cesarean delivery. To date, no follow-up study has examined all of these variables to evaluate the utility of reflexology in reducing these problems and supporting breastfeeding.Research Aim:This study aimed to determine the effect of foot reflexology performed in the postpartum period on pain, fatigue, sleep quality, and lactation in primiparous women who underwent cesarean delivery.Methods:This is a two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Data were collected between January 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021, with a sample of 80 women who were randomly assigned to the reflexology (n = 40) and control (n = 40) groups. The reflexology group received 40 minutes of foot reflexology once a week for 8 weeks. The primary outcomes of the study were pain, fatigue, sleep quality, and breastfeeding efficacy.Results:Pain scores in the reflexology group decreased by 90.9% in week 1, 90.2% in week 2, and 59.8% in week 3 compared to the control group. Pain resolved at week 4 in the reflexology group and week 7 in the control group. The reflexology group showed a 36.9% decrease in fatigue level, a 48.0% increase in energy level, a 70.7% increase in sleep quality, and a 20.2% increase in breastfeeding efficacy compared to the control group (p < 0.05).Conclusions:Foot reflexology reduces postpartum symptoms and positively affects breastfeeding and can be used safely in postnatal care practices.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:The field of lactation currently uses breastfeeding rates to measure effectiveness. While monitoring breastfeeding outcomes can provide insight into the successes of lactation consulting as a profession, the improvement of breastfeeding outcomes is a multifactorial issue. In order to facilitate the growth of lactation education processes, understanding experiences during training and perceptions of readiness of current International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) for clinical practice is necessary.Research Aim:The aim of this survey was to provide a baseline assessment of the current landscape of the lactation profession through data related to certification, job market, practice confidence after passing the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) certifying examination, and perceptions of specializations.Methods:A cross-sectional study design was used to assess the experiences of practicing IBCLCs. Non-probability convenience sampling was implemented from December 2021 through January 2022. A total of 281 unique responses were recorded with complete data on variables of interest.Results:The majority of respondents were white females under age 50 located in the United States. The majority of respondents were certified through a Pathway 1. The largest barrier to certification was reported to be a lack of clinical/mentorship opportunities. Respondents were significantly more confident in providing entry-level support to dyads when mentored by four or more preceptors.Conclusion:Diversification of the field of lactation is necessary to provide appropriate support to lactating families in the United States. Additionally, addressing the barrier of accessing clinical/mentorship opportunities is essential for continued growth of the field of lactation.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Little is known about the relationship between maternal age and the macronutrient content of colostrum.Research Aims:This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between maternal age and human milk macronutrient content by comparing the concentrations of lactose, proteins, and lipids in the colostrum of women with younger, moderate, and advanced maternal age.Methods:An observational, cross-sectional study was designed to compare the macronutrient concentrations in the colostrum of women aged < 20 years, 20 to 34 years, and > 34 years (younger, moderate, and advanced maternal age, respectively; n = 33 per group). For each participant, 3 ml of colostrum was collected by manual extraction from the right breast at 10 am, 39–48 hr after delivery, and analyzed using a Miris Human Milk Analyzer. Macronutrient concentrations were compared between the groups using analysis of variance. P < 0.05 was considered significant.Results:Mothers with moderate maternal age had a higher colostrum lipid concentration than those with younger or advanced maternal age (2.3 mg, SD = 1.4 mg vs. 1.5 mg, SD = 1.0 mg vs. 1.6 mg, SD = 0.9 mg, respectively; p = 0.007). Lactose and protein contents in the analyzed samples did not differ among the three study groups.Conclusion:This study lends support to the potential variation of lipids in colostrum by maternal age and suggests individual adaptation to the nutritional components of milk to the needs of the infant may be beneficial.