Monday, May 03, 2004

Protein in human milk reduces risk of obesity
"News-Medical.net
Protein in human milk reduces risk of obesity
By: News-Medical
Published: Monday, 3-May-2004
Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have conducted the first study to detect the presence of a protein in human milk that may explain the association between breastfeeding and reduced risk of obesity later in life. The protein is adiponectin, which is secreted by fat cells and affects how the body processes sugars and lipids -- fatty substances in the blood. It's been suggested that adiponectin is involved in the metabolic syndrome, which includes insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease and occurs in 20-25 percent of adults. Higher levels of adiponectin have been associated with less disease. If adiponectin is present in human milk, the Cincinnati Children's researchers theorized, the protein could have an influence over the metabolic 'programming' of infants. That is, it could affect adiposity, or 'fatness,' later in life...."
Overweight moms have trouble nursing
By KATHLEEN DOHENY HealthDay
May. 3, 2004 05:45 PM


Overweight new mothers are more likely to quit breast-feeding early or not try it at all, and now researchers have found a reason why.

Women who are heavy have a diminished response to their baby's suckling, and this can adversely affect milk production, said Kathleen M. Rasmussen, a professor of nutrition at Cornell University and lead author of the study, which appears in the May issue of Pediatrics.
"
Breastfeeding helps against low weight infants and infection

By: News-Medical

Published: Saturday, 1-May-2004

A new study shows that human milk protects extremely low birth weight infants from developing sepsis -- an overwhelming infection and a leading cause of illness and death in these tiny babies. In fact, the more human milk given as a percentage of nutritional intake, the lower the risk of sepsis during the hospital stay, according to the researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center."
HIV test after wrong woman's breast milk given to baby
By: News-Medical

Published: Saturday, 1-May-2004
"An Australian hospital has been forced to test a baby for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases after she was given the wrong woman's breast milk.

Doctors at Bankstown hospital in Sydney's west have finally written to mother Magdalena Guevarra, confirming her five-week-old daughter Madeleine is free from such infections following the mix-up a month ago...."
Breastfed Babies Less Likely to Die, Study Finds (washingtonpost.com)
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 3, 2004; Page A03
"Breastfeeding appears to reduce significantly the chances that babies will die in their first year of life, researchers reported yesterday. An analysis of a nationally representative sample of about 9,000 U.S. babies found that breastfeeding decreased the risk of dying from any cause by about 20 percent, the researchers reported.... "