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The Impact of Breastfeeding on Maternal, Child and Organizations Health

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A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2022) | Viewed by 18794

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elizabeth Asztalos

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Chief Guest Editor

Department of Newborn & Developmental Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5A 1B2, Canada
Interests: neonatal care and neurodevelopmental outcomes; clinical trials; breastfeeding in the preterm population; breast milk enhancement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ana Lisbona

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Co-Guest Editor

Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Juan del Rosal 10, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: breastfeeding; personal initiative; social identity theory

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies are unquestionable, as shown by numerous reviews and research on the subject; however, due to the impact on the health of both mothers and babies, it is important to continue to assess these benefits for both. Moreover, situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic present the opportunity to obtain new scientific evidence of the impact of breastfeeding.

The benefits of breastfeeding extend beyond solely mothers and babies; there is much discussion nowadays regarding its impact on the health of organizations, understanding organizational health in the broadest sense.

In addition, from a social justice perspective, working mothers must be supported by the organizations in which they work; their health may be affected by the need to work, but organizations can make efforts to improve their health, in the form of sick leave or requests for childcare days to ensure the health of breastfed children. As a result, mothers may be able to carry out their work more effectively, in turn benefitting the organizations in which they work.

The objective of this Special Issue is to bring together a series of novel research and reviews as well as to identify gaps in knowledge on the impact of breastfeeding on maternal and child health. We will also consider the impact on organizations that favor the continuation of breastfeeding in employees who are mothers. We welcome reviews and original research considering novel approaches to this subject.

We also encourage submissions that explore how the return to work of mothers who wish to continue breastfeeding their children can have an impact on their health and how feeling supported in their return to work can impact the results of the organization.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Elizabeth Asztalos
Chief Guest Editor

Dr. Ana Lisbona
Co-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. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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

breastfeeding
mother health
child health
organizational health

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 912 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Healthy Habits and Emotional Balance in Women during the Postpartum Period: Differences between Term and Preterm Delivery

by Andrea Gila-Díaz, Gloria Herranz Carrillo, Silvia M. Arribas and David Ramiro-Cortijo

Children 2021, 8(10), 937; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8100937 - 18 Oct 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3011

Abstract

Breastfeeding could be considered as a vulnerable period, rising the risk to shift from optimism to pessimism. Preterm delivery is an event that increases postpartum maternal stress and depression, which can have a negative impact on breastfeeding and maternal–filial wellbeing. The adherence to healthy habits may have a positive influence on this vulnerable population. We aimed to analyze the impact of prematurity on maternal psychological aspects during postpartum and to study if adherence to the Healthy Food Pyramid influences psychological variables. Fifty-five breastfeeding women being attended in the Hospital Clínico San Carlos (Madrid, Spain) were recruited during the first day postpartum. The medical data were collected from the obstetrical records. The women answered an auto-administered questionnaire with several sections: sociodemographic characteristics, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Life Orientation Test (LOT), at 14 days and 6 months postpartum, Adherence to the Healthy Food Pyramid Questionnaire (AP-Q) at 28 days postpartum and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) at 6 months postpartum. The PSS and LOT scores were not statistically different in mothers with preterm compared to term delivery either at 14 days or at 6 months postpartum. Longitudinally, the PSS did not show significant differences, but the LOT score was lower at 6 months compared to 14 days postpartum (p-Value = 0.046). A higher EPDS score was significantly found in mothers with preterm delivery (9.0 ± 4.7) than those with a term delivery (5.4 ± 4.2; p-value = 0.040). A significant and positive correlation was observed between the AP-Q score and LOT both at 14 days and 6 months postpartum. Conclusively, maternal optimism decreases during the postpartum period, women with preterm delivery being at risk of postpartum depression. Furthermore, there is a relationship between optimism and adherence to healthy habits. Healthcare professional counseling is essential during the entire breastfeeding period, particularly in vulnerable mothers with preterm delivery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Breastfeeding on Maternal, Child and Organizations Health)

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9 pages, 226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Perinatal Maternal Mental Health and Breastfeeding Are Associated with Infant and Toddler Sensory Profiles

by Bryan M. Gee, Nicki L. Aubuchon-Endsley and Abby Prow

Children 2021, 8(9), 766; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8090766 - 31 Aug 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2223

Abstract

Infants’ sensory processing may impact their development and daily functioning in multiple domains, as does the mental health of their mothers. Little research has been conducted exploring the novel construct of sensory processing in relation to maternal mental health and arguably one of the most important co-occupations during this sensitive time (i.e., breastfeeding), which may also be impacted by maternal mental health. Therefore, this study aims to explore associations between maternal mental health, the co-occupation of breastfeeding, and the sensory processing profiles of infants. Specifically, a sample of maternal-offspring dyads was examined from pre-gestation through the infant’s age of 18 months. Mothers completed well-validated and contemporary self-report questionnaires of mental health (i.e., depression and anxiety symptom severity) and sensory processing across time points. Findings yielded statistically significant relationships between maternal prenatal and postnatal anxiety and depression symptom severity and infants’ sensory processing profiles. Further connections were found between infants’ sensory processing profiles and both duration and frequency of breastfeeding. The study provides health care professionals with additional perspectives on how maternal mental health status and breastfeeding may be related to infants’ sensory processing profiles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Breastfeeding on Maternal, Child and Organizations Health)

Review

Jump to: Research

15 pages, 942 KiB

Open AccessReview

Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment

by Giulia Vizzari, Daniela Morniroli, Federica Ceroni, Elvira Verduci, Alessandra Consales, Lorenzo Colombo, Jacopo Cerasani, Fabio Mosca and Maria Lorella Giannì

Children 2021, 8(10), 863; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8100863 - 28 Sep 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5154

Abstract

Human breast milk not only has nutritional properties but also holds a functional role. It contains various bioactive factors (lactoferrin, lysozyme, leukocytes, immunoglobulins, cytokines, hormones, human milk oligosaccharides, microbiome, microRNAs and stem cells) shown to contribute to several short- and long-term health outcomes. Some of these factors appear to be involved in the infant’s neuro-cognitive development, anti-oncogenic processes, cellular communication and differentiation. Furthermore, breast milk is increasingly recognized to have dynamic characteristics and to play a fundamental role in the cross-talking mother-neonate. This narrative review aims to provide a summary and an update on these bioactive substances, exploring their functions mainly on immunomodulation, microbiome and virome development. Although the knowledge about breast milk potentiality has significantly improved, leading to discovering unexpected functions, the exact mechanisms with which breast milk exercises its bioactivity have not been completely clarified. This can represent a fertile ground for exploring and understanding the complexity behind these functional elements to develop new therapeutic strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Breastfeeding on Maternal, Child and Organizations Health)

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25 pages, 1166 KiB

Open AccessReview

Human Milk Oligosaccharides: A Comprehensive Review towards Metabolomics

by Laura Corona, Anna Lussu, Alice Bosco, Roberta Pintus, Flaminia Cesare Marincola, Vassilios Fanos and Angelica Dessì

Children 2021, 8(9), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8090804 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6612

Abstract

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third most represented component in breast milk. They serve not only as prebiotics but they exert a protective role against some significant neonatal pathologies such as necrotizing enterocolitis. Furthermore, they can program the immune system and consequently reduce allergies and autoimmune diseases’ incidence. HMOs also play a crucial role in brain development and in the gut barrier’s maturation. Moreover, the maternal genetic factors influencing different HMO patterns and their modulation by the interaction and the competition between active enzymes have been widely investigated in the literature, but there are few studies concerning the role of other factors such as maternal health, nutrition, and environmental influence. In this context, metabolomics, one of the newest “omics” sciences that provides a snapshot of the metabolites present in bio-fluids, such as breast milk, could be useful to investigate the HMO content in human milk. The authors performed a review, from 2012 to the beginning of 2021, concerning the application of metabolomics to investigate the HMOs, by using Pubmed, Researchgate and Scopus as source databases. Through this technology, it is possible to know in real-time whether a mother produces a specific oligosaccharide, keeping into consideration that there are other modifiable and unmodifiable factors that influence HMO production from a qualitative and a quantitative point of view. Although further studies are needed to provide clinical substantiation, in the future, thanks to metabolomics, this could be possible by using a dipstick and adding the eventual missing oligosaccharide to the breast milk or formula in order to give the best and the most personalized nutritional regimen for each newborn, adjusting to different necessities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Breastfeeding on Maternal, Child and Organizations Health)

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