The Potential Impact of Reliance on Expressed Milk Feeding for Maternal and Child Health

Dear Colleagues,

Breastfeeding is truly the keystone of maternal child health and the great equalizer to ensure best health and development for mothers and children worldwide, no matter what their circumstances. While there is an increasing data base of evidence of the impact of breastfeeding on various risk factors, there remains a lack of consistency in the definitions used, timing of follow-up, measurement of outcomes, etc. across studies, has made it virtually impossible to pin down the exact risks and benefits of any particular behavior. This is further compounded by the fact that more and more women are feeding their infants expressed milk. Unfortunately, while this remains an excellent nutritional resource for every baby, there is a huge physiological loss for both mother and child when breastfeeding is replaced with expressed human milk feeding. This situation is compounded by the fact that "breastfeeding" has been defined primarily from the perspective of infant nutrition, rather than from the perspective of potential impact on both maternal and child health. Infant nutrition is primarily concerned with what is ingested on average over the course of the day, as the feeding of human milk. This definition has caused additional problems with the interpretation of the literature, as the every changing quality of the milk that occurs with breastfeeding at the breast is lost, as is the physiological interaction and closeness that leads to changes in brain function and development. This Special Issue in Children will serve as a forum to explore what research is needed to address gaps in the understanding of the true benefits of breastfeeding at the breast, what is retained in the feeding of stored human milk, and to explicitly explore what is lost when we are forced by societal pressures to turn from breastfeeding to feeding of expressed pooled milk.

I look forward to receiving your contributions!

Miriam H Labbok, MD, MPH, IBCLC, FACPM, FABM, FILCA.
Guest Editor.

Founding Professor and Director Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI)
Founder, Past President and Board Member, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
Board Member, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
WHO Collaborating Centre on Sexual and Reproductive Health
EMPower: Enhancing Maternity Practices, Breastfeeding Team Leader
Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC USA 27599-7445
labbok@unc.edu tel: 919-966-0928   fax:919-966-0458
http://breastfeeding.unc.edu
http://www.breastfeeding4health.com/

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