Bottle-feeding Mothers Research Articles

Drugs taken by mothers in the puerperium: inpatient survey in Northern Ireland.

In an inpatient survey the medication records of 2004 mothers both breast and bottle feeding were examined and the drugs taken in the early postnatal period recorded. No notable differences existed between the types of drugs prescribed for breast feeding and bottle feeding mothers. Iron, vitamins, and mild analgesics were taken routinely by the population, and antibiotics, laxatives, and hypnotics were frequently prescribed. A wide range of other drugs and preparations were taken or used. Although data were available for some of the drugs, there were many whose concentrations in breast milk and potential risk to the suckling infant were unknown. Data are urgently required on hypnotics, narcotic analgesics, antiemetics, antihistaminics, and some antimicrobial agents with respect to their concentrations in breast milk and their safety for the suckling infant.

Fertility after childbirth: changes in serum gonadotrophin levels in bottle and breast feeding women.

Changes in basal serum gonadotrophin levels during the resumption of ovarian activity post partum have been studied longitudinally in breast and bottle feeding mothers. On the basis of urinary steroid levels, ovarian activity was classified as showing complete suppression, follicular activity only, deficient luteal phases or normal menstrual cycles. Complete suppression of ovarian activity during lactation was associated with normal levels of FSH but low levels of LH. The resumption of follicular development was not accompanied by any increase in levels of either LH or FSH when compared with the phase of complete suppression and this pattern persisted during menstrual cycles characterized by deficient luteal phase progesterone secretion. Basal LH levels did not rise to normal levels during lactation until the resumption of normal ovulatory cycles. FSH secretion remained at a level comparable with the follicular phase of normal ovulatory cycles throughout the post partum period. In mothers who did not breast feed, LH levels rose more rapidly than in breast feeding mothers and had returned to within normal limits by three weeks post partum. At 4 weeks post partum FSH levels were lower in bottle feeding mothers than in breast feeders probably in response to the early rise in oestrogen levels among bottle feeders. These results suggest that decreased LH but not FSH secretion may be important in maintaining infertility associated with breast feeding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Fertility after childbirth: adequacy of post-partum luteal phases.

Normal ranges of urinary pregnanediol and total urinary oestrogen were determined from weekly estimations in twenty-seven cycles from seven normally menstruating control women and compared with the levels in the cycles of twenty-seven breast feeding and ten bottle feeding mothers. During lactation, the luteal phase pregnanediol levels were within normal limits in thirteen of forty-nine (27%) cycles, the remainder of the luteal phases being deficient (31%) or absent (42%). The proportion of normal luteal phases remained low during first cycles after lactation in six of twenty-three (26%) but rose to twenty-four of thirty-one (77%) in subsequent cycles. In bottle feeding mothers, the luteal phases of first post-partum cycles were deficient in two of ten (20%) and absent in eight of ten (80%). In second post-partum cycles, the majority of luteal phases were deficient (eight of ten, 80%) and it was not until third post-partum cycles that seven of eight (88%) had luteal phase pregnanediol levels in the normal range. Cycles during lactation and first cycles after lactation had significantly lower mean urinary pregnanediol and total urinary oestrogen levels than both the control cycles and the later cycles after lactation. Similarly, first post-partum cycles in bottle feeders had lower urinary pregnanediol and total urinary oestrogen levels than controls. This study shows an increased frequency of abnormal luteal phases during the early post-partum menstrual cycles of both breast and bottle feeding mothers which may be associated with defective development of the follicle.

Involution of the postpartum uterus: an ultrasonic study.

The involution of the uterus was studied between 1 and 40 days postpartum utilizing serial ultrasonic scans. All pregnancies and postpartum periods were uncomplicated. The decrease in uterine size was related to a diminution in uterine length. No difference was observed between nullipara and primipara or breast- or bottle-feeding mothers.

Potential Effect of Demographic and Other Variables in Studies Comparing Morbidity of Breast-Fed and Bottle-Fed Infants

Comparing the morbidity of breast-fed and bottle-fed infants is confounded by inherent differences in breast-feeding and bottle-feeding mothers and their infants. Self-selection introduces complex variables encompassing much more than milk source used for infant feeding. Reasons for selecting breast or bottle feeding relate to demographic, socioeconomic, educational, ethnic, cultural, and psychological factors, as well as maternal and infant physical and emotional health. Many of the differences in the maternal populations may affect infant care practices, access to medical care, and infant health status. Studies published to date have not quantified these confounding effects and other potential biases in comparing morbidity to breast- and bottle-fed infants and the relationship between milk source and incidence of infantile disease remains in question. There is need for more cautious use of the available data and investigators must seek ways to design future studies to take into account the differences between breast-feeding and bottle-feeding mothers that affect both reported and actual infant morbidity.

Mothers’ compliance with physicians’ recommendations on infant feeding

One hundred thirty-one mothers who were patients of ten physicians were surveyed to determine their compliance with physician-recommended infant feeding practices. For a direct, self-reported measure, the rate of non-compliance was nearly 30 per cent. A second measure, a "compliance score," was computed by comparing mothers' responses to specific questions about the feeding of their babies with their physcians' recommendations for normal, healthy infants. The mean noncompliance rate on this measure was 44 per cent. Differing response patterns regarding specific feeding practices were found for breast-feeding and bottle feeding mothers. To determine selected psychologic factors associated with compliance, health-related attitude and belief scales were originated and validated. Attitudes that "nutrition is important" and a "concern for health" were significantly correlated with the compliance score for breast-feeding mothers.

Experience and Personality Differences Among Breast- and Bottle-feeding Mothers

Twenty breast-feeding (BF) mothers and twenty artificially feeding (AF) mothers were studied to assess the relationship between different feeding modes and the mother's enjoyment of feeding and her attitude toward and style of weaning the child to a cup. Besides administering a 30-45-minute semistructured interview, a sensation seeking scale and the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (MAACL) were administered. Results indicated the BF mothers were higher sensation seekers, more satisfied with the feeding experience, and more ambivalent about weaning than the AF mothers. The BF mothers favored waiting for the child to initiate weaning, and breast-fed males were weaned significantly later than bottle-fed males. It appears that mode of feeding and optimal levels of stimulation are related to how the mother experiences infant feeding, although additional research is warranted.

A Study of Timing of First Solid Foods: Comparison of Breast‐ and Bottlefeeding Mothers

ABSTRACT: A study of the timing of first solid foods in the infant diet reveals significant differences, with bottlefeeding mothers more likely to add solid foods prior to the infant's third month than breastfeeding mothers. In addition, the type of food used was related to the timing of its introduction, with bottlefeeding mothers more likely than breastfeeding women to use commercially prepared baby foods rather than home‐prepared foods. Although recommendations by established pediatric societies caution against the too‐early introduction of solid foods at the expense of the amount of milk received, these recommendations have not yet filtered down to a number of parents, especially those who bottlefeed their infants.

Some Personality Differences Between Breast and Bottle Feeding Mothers

Some Personality Differences Between Breast and Bottle Feeding Mothers

Letter: Calorie requirements for successful breast feeding.

Daily caloric intakes were assessed by 24-hour recall in 13 healthy women while breastfeeding between 4 and 38 weeks postpartum and in the subsequent nonlactating state. 9 mothers were lactating adequately; i.e., no complementary feeds were given. 4 mothers had an inadequate milk supply, as complementary bottles had to be given at 2 or more feeds/day. All the babies were healthy. The weight of 1 baby fell between the 3rd and 10th percentile, 4 between the 10th and 25th, 7 between the 25th-75th, and 1 between the 75th-90th. The younger babies, under 4 months, were receiving little or no solid food, and the major part of the older babies' fluid intake was breastmilk. Results shown tabularly indicate that caloric intakes of the 9 successfully breastfeeding mothers was considerably higher than that of the 4 mothers who were unsuccessful. This was particularly striking in the mothers who were not losing weight. The intake of the unsuccessful mothers was only little more than in the nonlactating state, whereas the successful mothers were eating up to 50% more than normal. 1 unsuccessful mother, consuming 1950 kcal increased her intake to 3910 kcal/day. Her milk supply increased quickly and complementary feeds were no longer necessary. Furthermore, 3 successful mothers who tried to diet to lose weight more rapidly found an immediate reduction in milk supply with subsequent irritability and failure of their babies to gain weight. On reverting to demand feeding, the babies became satisfied and resumed their normal weight gain patterns. None of the mothers were aware of the extra caloric requirements of the body during nursing although the Department of Health and Social Security and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recommend increases of 500 and 1000 kcal/day. The present findings are in agreement with those of Thomson, Hytten, and Billewicz who found that successfully lactating women, most of whom are losing weight, had an average daily intake of 690 kcal/day nore than bottlefeeding mothers. Insufficient milk is a commonly reported cause for breastfeeding failure and the usual clinic advice to mothers to drink more fluid to increase their supply has been ineffective. Since the present preliminary results indicate that the calorie content of a mother's diet may be critical in her ability to produce an adequate milk supply, mothers should be informed of their extra caloric requirements, and advised to eat more if in doubt about their milk supply.