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A newborn's perspective on immune responses to foodIn this review, we will highlight infants' immune responses to food, emphasizing the unique aspects of early-life immunity and the critical role of breast milk as a food dedicated to infants. Infants are susceptible to inflammatory responses rather than immune tolerance at the mucosal and skin barriers, necessitating strategies to promote oral tolerance that consider this susceptibility.
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Infant feeding practices and childhood acute leukemia: Findings from the Childhood Cancer & Leukemia International ConsortiumIncreasing evidence suggests that breastfeeding may protect from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. However, most studies have limited their analyses to any breastfeeding, and only a few data have examined exclusive breastfeeding, or other exposures such as formula milk.
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Breastfeeding in a COVID-19 worldThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the birthing and postnatal experience of women. This review highlights how policy changes have affected pregnant and breastfeeding women, the evidence for continued breastfeeding and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines, and how the pandemic's unexpected consequences have affected these women's wellbeing.
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Lactoferrin Expression Is Not Associated with Late-Onset Sepsis in Very Preterm InfantsPreterm infants are at a high risk of developing late-onset sepsis (LOS). Lactoferrin is one of the most abundant endogenous antimicrobial proteins expressed in breast milk, stools, and blood, and a candidate for preventive intervention. Large clinical trials have recently investigated whether enteral supplementation with bovine lactoferrin reduces LOS.
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Associations of Maternal Milk Feeding With Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 7 Years of Age in Former Preterm InfantsMaternal milk feeding may have unique long-term neurodevelopmental benefits in very preterm infants. We examine the extent to which maternal milk feeding after very preterm birth is associated with cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes at school age.
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Support breastfeeding Mums for healthy babies and a healthy planetAs a child health researcher, I'm often asked by new Mums what's the best thing they can do for their babies? And my answer is always the same, breastfeed.
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BreastfeedingConvenient, readily available and helping create a close and loving bond between baby and mother, breastfeeding is highly regarded for optimising infant health and preventing chronic disease in adulthood.
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Longitudinal Profiling of the Human Milk Microbiome from Birth to 12 Months Reveals Overall Stability and Selective Taxa-Level VariationHuman milk bacteria contribute to gut microbiome establishment in breastfed infants. Although breastfeeding is recommended throughout infancy, temporal variation in the milk microbiome-particularly beyond solid food introduction-remains understudied. We analyzed 539 milk samples from 83 mother-infant dyads between 1 week and 12 months postpartum using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
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Food Proteins in Human Breast Milk and Probability of IgE-Mediated Allergic Reaction in Children During Breastfeeding: A Systematic ReviewPrevious reports suggested that food proteins present in human milk (HM) may trigger symptoms in allergic children during breastfeeding, but existing evidence has never been reviewed systematically.
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Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation modifies the microbiome and short chain fatty acid profile of both mother and infantImproving maternal gut health in pregnancy and lactation is a potential strategy to improve immune and metabolic health in offspring and curtail the rising rates of inflammatory diseases linked to alterations in gut microbiota. Here, we investigate the effects of a maternal prebiotic supplement (galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides), ingested daily from <21 weeks' gestation to six months' post-partum, in a double-blinded, randomised placebo-controlled trial.