UMass Breastmilk Lab

09/18/2018

Attention all new mothers living in Amherst MA or surrounding towns! Researchers at UMass are currently looking for women to participate in a diet intervention study. Participants must have given birth within the past 6 weeks, plan to nurse their child for at least 3 more months, and live within 25 miles of UMass Amherst. If you are interested in taking part in the study, or would like more info, please call 413-545-0813, or email [email protected]

12/05/2016

Don't qualify to donate milk for one of our studies?

You may be able to donate breastmilk to the UC San Diego Mommy's Milk Human Milk Research Biorepository - the first-ever national breastmilk bank for research!

https://mommysmilkresearch.org/participate/

This is just a short excerpt for the contact page.

10/18/2016

Moms who have, or have had, breast cancer, we need your help!

We are seeking breastmilk donations from moms living anywhere in the country who have, or have had, breast cancer.

Many thanks to Ashley (pictured below), a breast cancer survivor who donated a sample of her frozen milk for our research!

To see if you qualify to participate, please fill out this questionnaire: https://arcsapps.umassmed.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=EXRS5CS698

10/17/2016

21st Annual International Meeting of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine

09/26/2016

Thank you so much to the thousands of moms who completed our survey about their willingness to donate breastmilk for our research! Your answers will inform our future breast cancer research.

And very special thanks to KellyMom.com, Best for Babes Foundation, The Leaky B@, The Badass Breastfeeder, Breastfeeding USA, and Motherlove Herbal Company for posting our survey and sharing it with their fans! We couldn't have done it without you!

For more information on donating milk for our research visit: http://www.breastmilkresearch.org/donate-breastmilk-for-research/

UMass Breastmilk Lab

09/16/2016

Would you donate breastmilk to fight breast cancer? Please fill out our survey to show that nursing moms would donate breastmilk to fight breast cancer: https://arcsapps.umassmed.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=S8WfzPtEGc

08/08/2016

Donate breastmilk to fight breast cancer!

We are currently looking for nursing moms to donate breastmilk for our breast cancer research. Please spread the word!

*Mothers who have or have had breast cancer.* Participants are nursing mothers living anywhere in the U.S. who have/have had breast cancer and can donate fresh or frozen breastmilk (we provide mailer). For more information about this study, or to participate, call Beth Punska at (413) 545-0813, or email [email protected]

OR

*Mothers who are breastfeeding and expect to have a breast biopsy.* Participants live anywhere in the U.S., and can donate a fresh breastmilk sample (we provide mailer). For more information about this study, or to participate,call Beth Punska at (413) 545-0813, or email [email protected]

08/01/2016

UNICEF estimates that, globally, more than half of newborns are not breastfed within the first hour of life, putting them at increased risk of disease and death.

"If all babies were fed nothing but breast milk from birth to six months, more than 800,000 lives could be saved each year, UNICEF said."

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/07/29/more-than-half-newborns-not-breastfed-in-first-hour-raising-health-risks-unicef-says.html

More than half of newborn babies are not breastfed within the first hour of life, putting them at heightened risk of disease and death, the United Nations' children's agency said on Friday, highlighting sub-Saharan Africa as an area of concern.

08/01/2016

A new study of 180 pre-term infants from birth to age seven, found that "babies who were fed more breast milk within the first 28 days of life had had larger volumes of certain regions of the brain at term equivalent and had better IQs, academic achievement, working memory, and motor function."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160729092524.htm

A new study, which followed 180 pre-term infants from birth to age seven, found that babies who were fed more breast milk within the first 28 days of life had had larger volumes of certain regions of the brain at term equivalent and had better IQs, academic achievement, working memory, and motor fun...

07/23/2016

A new study provides more insight on how breastfeeding protects mothers against diabetes:

"The findings of our study provide new insights into disease-related metabolic pathways that are influenced by lactation and could thus be the underlying reason for the protective effect," concludes Dr. Sandra Hummel, head of the Gestational Diabetes working group at the IDF, who led the study. Breastfeeding, she explains, is a cost-effective intervention which aims to reduce the long-term risk of developing type 2 diabetes among women with gestational diabetes.

In the future, the scientists will look at ways of translating this knowledge into concrete treatment recommendations. "On average, women with gestational diabetes breastfeed less often and for shorter duration than non-diabetic mothers," Hummel says. "The aim is now to develop strategies that will improve the breastfeeding behaviors of mothers with gestational diabetes."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/hzm--bam072016.php

07/23/2016

Wonderful article about breastmilk and the microbiome in The New Yorker, subtitled "Why human milk is a scientific marvel."

"It is led by a chemist named Bruce German, and if there were a world title in extolling the virtues of milk he would surely hold it. At our first meeting, he spent half an hour monologuing on the subject, bouncing on an exercise ball and kneading a tattered shred of bubble wrap as he spoke. Milk, he said, is a perfect source of nutrition, a superfood that is actually worthy of the label."

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/breast-feeding-the-microbiome

Why human milk is a scientific marvel.

07/23/2016

A new study finds that Latino preschoolers who were exclusively breastfed have longer telomeres - protective parts of DNA:

"Infants who are exclusively breastfed early in life are more likely by age 4 or 5 to have longer telomeres, the protective bits of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes in cells. In older adults, shorter telomeres are associated with a greater likelihood of developing conditions of aging, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Telomeres, which are measured in white blood cells, generally become shorter with age, when the cell can no longer regenerate through cell division. But there is evidence that a significant amount of telomere shortening occurs during early childhood."

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/07/403606/early-exclusive-breastfeeding-associated-longer-telomeres-latino-preschoolers

Infants who are exclusively breastfed early in life are more likely by age 4 or 5 to have longer telomeres, the protective bits of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes in cells.