nutrients-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Human Milk Feeding: Health and Nutrition for Term and Preterm Newborns—What’s New?

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 9667

Special Issue Editor

Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, NICU, via Commenda 12, 20122 Milan, Italy
Interests: neonatal nutrition; preterm infants; human milk; donor human milk; human milk fortification; Human milk bank; body composition; parenteral nutrition; short bowel syndrome; home parenteral nutrition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing knowledge about peculiar characteristics of human milk demonstrates its uniqueness in promoting and protecting the health of newborns and also their mothers.

The well-known benefits  of human milk feeding for term infants become more relevant in those born premature, who are more vulnerable. In fact, premature birth can increase the risk of developing morbidity both in the acute postnatal period and later in life.

What makes breast milk peculiar and unique is not yet completely known. Differently, what is known is that the benefits of fresh mother's milk cannot be always achieved with pasteurized human milk, even if there are a lot of data describing better clinical outcomes in infants fed with donor milk than in those fed with formula milk.

Recent research has focused on the knowledge of these peculiarities in order not only to optimize but also to personalize infants' nutrition, with a specific focus on those vulnerable categories.

This Special Issue welcomes the latest research regarding:

  • The role of human milk on promoting health of infants, especially among infants born preterm;
  • Human milk composition;
  • Possible strategies for optimization and personalization of human milk.

Dr. Nadia Liotto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • human milk
  • donor milk
  • human milk composition
  • newborns
  • preterm infants

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

12 pages, 892 KiB  
Article
Gestational Hypertension and Human Breast Milk Composition in Correlation with the Assessment of Fetal Growth—A Pilot Study
by Ewa Magdalena Sokołowska, Joanna Maria Jassem-Bobowicz, Izabela Drążkowska, Zuzanna Świąder and Iwona Domżalska-Popadiuk
Nutrients 2023, 15(10), 2404; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15102404 - 21 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1773
Abstract
Background and aims: 1 in 10 pregnant women is diagnosed with gestational hypertension. Increasing evidence suggests that preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension may affect human breast milk’s lactogenesis and percentage composition. We aimed to examine whether there is any significant influence of [...] Read more.
Background and aims: 1 in 10 pregnant women is diagnosed with gestational hypertension. Increasing evidence suggests that preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension may affect human breast milk’s lactogenesis and percentage composition. We aimed to examine whether there is any significant influence of gestational hypertension on the composition of macronutrients in human breast milk and to assess its correlation with fetal growth. Methods: A total of 72 breastfeeding women (34 diagnosed with gestational hypertension and 38 normotensive women during pregnancy) were recruited to the study at the Division of Neonatology, Medical University of Gdańsk, between June and December 2022. Milk samples were collected between the 3rd and 6th day of lactogenesis. Samples were analyzed using the Miris HMA™ Human Milk Analyzer (Upsala, Sweden), which evaluates the milk composition’s energy, fat, carbohydrate and protein quantity. In addition, we assessed the children’s anthropometric measurements (birth weight, body length and head circumference at birth). We used logistic regression to estimate the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) macronutrient composition per 10 mL of milk in the GH group was 2.5 g (±0.9) of fat, 1.7 g (±0.3) of true protein, 7.7 g (±0.3) of carbohydrates and 63.2 g (±8.1) of energy, in the normotensive women group 1.0 g (±0.9) of fat, 1.7 g (±0.3) of true protein, 7.3 g (±0.4) of carbohydrates and 57.9 g (±8.6) of energy content, respectively. The fat composition was higher in the PIH group by a mean of 0.6 g (p < 0.005). Gestational hypertension had a positive, significant correlation with birth weight (p < 0.013) and the mother’s pre-pregnancy weight (p < 0.005). Conclusions: In conclusion, we found significant differences between milk composition in postpartum women with gestational hypertension compared to healthy, normotensive women. Human milk from women with gestational hypertension was found to contain a higher composition of fat, carbohydrates and energy in comparison to healthy women. Our aim is to further evaluate this correlation, as well as to assess the growth rate of newborns in order to determine the need for individualized formulas for women with pregnancy-induced hypertension, those with poor lactogenesis and those who cannot or choose not to breastfeed. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 999 KiB  
Article
Fucosylated Human Milk Oligosaccharides during the First 12 Postnatal Weeks Are Associated with Better Executive Functions in Toddlers
by Yvonne Willemsen, Roseriet Beijers, Fangjie Gu, Alejandro Arias Vasquez, Henk Arie Schols and Carolina de Weerth
Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1463; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061463 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3796
Abstract
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are one of the most abundant solid components in a mother’s milk. Animal studies have confirmed a link between early life exposure to HMOs and better cognitive outcomes in the offspring. Human studies on HMOs and associations with later [...] Read more.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are one of the most abundant solid components in a mother’s milk. Animal studies have confirmed a link between early life exposure to HMOs and better cognitive outcomes in the offspring. Human studies on HMOs and associations with later child cognition are scarce. In this preregistered longitudinal study, we investigated whether human milk 2′-fucosyllactose, 3′-sialyllactose, 6′-sialyllactose, grouped fucosylated HMOs, and grouped sialylated HMOs, assessed during the first twelve postnatal weeks, are associated with better child executive functions at age three years. At infant age two, six, and twelve weeks, a sample of human milk was collected by mothers who were exclusively (n = 45) or partially breastfeeding (n = 18). HMO composition was analysed by use of porous graphitized carbon-ultra high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Executive functions were assessed at age three years with two executive function questionnaires independently filled in by mothers and their partners, and four behavioural tasks. Multiple regression analyses were performed in R. Results indicated that concentrations of 2′-fucosyllactose and grouped fucosylated HMOs were associated with better executive functions, while concentrations of grouped sialylated HMOs were associated with worse executive functions at age three years. Future studies on HMOs that sample frequently during the first months of life and experimental HMO administration studies in exclusively formula-fed infants can further reveal associations with child cognitive development and uncover potential causality and sensitive periods. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

10 pages, 278 KiB  
Review
Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Infant Neurodevelopment: A Narrative Review
by Paige K. Berger, Margaret L. Ong, Lars Bode and Mandy B. Belfort
Nutrients 2023, 15(3), 719; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030719 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3462
Abstract
The objective of this narrative review was to synthesize the literature on human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and neurodevelopmental outcomes in human milk-fed infants. We conducted a scoping review of the literature indexed in PubMed reporting observational or interventional studies on HMO exposure in [...] Read more.
The objective of this narrative review was to synthesize the literature on human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and neurodevelopmental outcomes in human milk-fed infants. We conducted a scoping review of the literature indexed in PubMed reporting observational or interventional studies on HMO exposure in relation to psychometric measures in infants. Studies were characterized based on study design and definitions of HMO exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Six studies were identified; all were observational in design, and five were conducted in full-term infants. Sample sizes ranged from 35–659 infants. HMOs were defined as individual concentrations or relative abundances assessed at 1 and/or 6 months of age. Studies accounted for differences in HMO exposure based on maternal secretor status. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed between 6 and 24 months of age and included four domains. Studies in full-term infants reported that total and individual fucosylated and sialylated HMOs were positively associated with cognitive, language, and motor skill domains between 18 and 24 months of age, while the single study in preterm infants reported no statistically significant findings in the full cohort. The presence of a maternal secretor did not consistently alter the associations between HMO exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Emerging evidence from observational studies suggests that HMO exposure may be beneficial for neurodevelopment in infants. Full article
Back to TopTop