Use of skimmed breast milk for an infant with a long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorder: A novel therapeutic intervention.

The focus of dietary therapy for long chain fatty acid oxidation disorders (LC-FAODs) is to minimize fatty acid oxidation by avoiding fasting and providing sufficient calories. Dietary therapy involves restriction of long-chain triglycerides (LCT), and provision of medium-chain triglycerides as an alternate energy source. It is well established that the use of breast milk through the first year of a newborn's life has significant health benefits. While very few medical contraindications to breastfeeding exist, feeding an infant with a severe carnitine acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) deficiency typically requires cessation of breastfeeding as approximately 50% of the calories in human milk come from LCT. In this case report, we present the innovative and successful use of skimmed breast milk incorporated into the dietary management of an infant with severe CACT deficiency. Given the poor prognosis for individuals with severe CACT deficiency on standard dietary therapy, the use of skimmed breast milk represents an important measure to try to improve short-term and long-term outcomes. Given the many proven benefits of breast milk, this case illustrates that skimmed breast milk can be combined with appropriate fat sources to provide complete nutrition for children with severe CACT deficiency. After over 12 months on this regimen, this patient has experienced normal growth and development and has had no acute decompensations.

Macronutrient Analysis of Modified-Fat Breast Milk Produced by 3 Methods of Fat Removal.

BACKGROUND: Infants with chylothorax after congenital heart disease surgery are commonly treated using modified-fat breast milk. The effect of fat removal on breast milk macronutrients remains unclear. We compared macronutrient content of breast milk with breast milk skimmed using 3 methods, including a novel device, a cream separator. METHODS: Thawed frozen breast milk samples from 30 women were defatted using refrigerated centrifuge, cream separator, and manual separation after refrigeration. We used standard assays to measure energy, protein, and fat content of breast milk samples. RESULTS: All fat removal methods yielded skimmed breast milk with substantially lower fat and energy content. Mean energy content in breast milk skimmed by centrifuge (36.7 [SD 3.6] kcal/100 mL) was similar to that from cream separator (38.8 [3.5] kcal/100 mL). Both centrifuge and cream separator methods removed almost all fat and substantially more fat than the manual fat removal method. For unprocessed milk, energy and fat content estimated by creamatocrit was similar to reference method measurements; in skimmed milk, the creamatocrit significantly overestimated fat content. Mean protein content of skimmed breast milk was similar to unprocessed breast milk (mean 1.25 [0.31] g/100 mL). CONCLUSION: Breast milk fat removal did not significantly alter protein levels. In skimmed breast milk, the overestimation of fat content using creamatocrit method suggests a need for more accurate bedside methods to assess macronutrient content. The similar macronutrient composition of breast milk skimmed by cream separator and centrifuge suggests the potential for cream separator use as a new, portable defatting method for hospitals and families.

Improving Access to Lactation Consultation and Early Breast Milk Use in an Outborn NICU.

INTRODUCTION: Increasing the use of breast milk in critically ill neonates is an important priority to improve neonatal care. Lactation consultants (LCs) educate mothers about evidence-based benefits of breast milk and provide technical support. LC support can lead to increased breastfeeding initiation. The project aim was to improve access to lactation services for mothers of patients admitted at <48 hours after birth to an exclusively outborn level III/IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS: The interventions included (1) implementation of an automatic electronic admission order for a lactation consult, (2) initiation of a daily lactation team notification, (3) assignment of a consistent NICU LC, and (4) targeted education. The percent of mothers who received lactation consults, the time to the first consultation, and the percent of patients receiving breast milk at 7 days of age were measured over 32 months and analyzed using statistical process control charts. RESULTS: The lactation consultation rate increased significantly from 74% to 88% with a shift in the mean by statistical process control chart analysis that was sustained over time. Concurrently, the time to first lactation consultation significantly decreased from hospital days 5 to 3.3, and variation decreased. Rates of breast milk use at 7 days of age also significantly increased from 75.6% to 89.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted quality improvement interventions led to an increased rate of lactation consultations, decreased time to first lactation consult, and increased rate of breast milk use at 7 days of age. These interventions could feasibly be implemented in similar referral NICU settings.

Unpasteurized Shared Human Milk Use in Pediatric Inpatients: Health and Ethical Implications.

Growing evidence supporting the health benefits of human milk, particularly in the preterm population, has led to rising demand for donor human milk in NICUs and pediatric hospitals. There are no previous reports describing the use of unpasteurized shared human milk (USHM) in the hospital setting, but the use of USHM solicited from community donors through social networks appears to be common. Many pediatric hospitals permit inpatients to receive breast milk that has been screened and pasteurized by a human milk banking organization and will provide pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) only to infants who are preterm or have specific medical conditions. These policies are designed to minimize potential adverse effects from improperly handled or screened donor milk and to target patients who would experience the greatest benefit in health outcomes with donor milk use. We explore the ethical and health implications of 2 cases of medically complex infants who did not meet criteria in our tertiary care hospital for the use of PDHM from a regulated human milk bank and were incidentally found to be using USHM. These cases raise questions about how best to balance the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and patient autonomy in the provision of PDHM, a limited resource. Health care staff should ask about USHM use to provide adequate counseling about the risks and benefits of various feeding options in the context of an infant's medical condition.

The Presence and Anti-HIV-1 Function of Tenascin C in Breast Milk and Genital Fluids.

Tenascin-C (TNC) is a newly identified innate HIV-1-neutralizing protein present in breast milk, yet its presence and potential HIV-inhibitory function in other mucosal fluids is unknown. In this study, we identified TNC as a component of semen and cervical fluid of HIV-1-infected and uninfected individuals, although it is present at a significantly lower concentration and frequency compared to that of colostrum and mature breast milk, potentially due to genital fluid protease degradation. However, TNC was able to neutralize HIV-1 after exposure to low pH, suggesting that TNC could be active at low pH in the vaginal compartment. As mucosal fluids are complex and contain a number of proteins known to interact with the HIV-1 envelope, we further studied the relationship between the concentration of TNC and neutralizing activity in breast milk. The amount of TNC correlated only weakly with the overall innate HIV-1-neutralizing activity of breast milk of uninfected women and negatively correlated with neutralizing activity in milk of HIV-1 infected women, indicating that the amount of TNC in mucosal fluids is not adequate to impede HIV-1 transmission. Moreover, the presence of polyclonal IgG from milk of HIV-1 infected women, but not other HIV-1 envelope-binding milk proteins or monoclonal antibodies, blocked the neutralizing activity of TNC. Finally, as exogenous administration of TNC would be necessary for it to mediate measurable HIV-1 neutralizing activity in mucosal compartments, we established that recombinantly produced TNC has neutralizing activity against transmitted/founder HIV-1 strains that mimic that of purified TNC. Thus, we conclude that endogenous TNC concentration in mucosal fluids is likely inadequate to block HIV-1 transmission to uninfected individuals.

Tenascin-C is an innate broad-spectrum, HIV-1-neutralizing protein in breast milk.

Achieving an AIDS-free generation will require elimination of postnatal transmission of HIV-1 while maintaining the nutritional and immunologic benefits of breastfeeding for infants in developing regions. Maternal/infant antiretroviral prophylaxis can reduce postnatal HIV-1 transmission, yet toxicities and the development of drug-resistant viral strains may limit the effectiveness of this strategy. Interestingly, in the absence of antiretroviral prophylaxis, greater than 90% of infants exposed to HIV-1 via breastfeeding remain uninfected, despite daily mucosal exposure to the virus for up to 2 y. Moreover, milk of uninfected women inherently neutralizes HIV-1 and prevents virus transmission in animal models, yet the factor(s) responsible for this anti-HIV activity is not well-defined. In this report, we identify a primary HIV-1-neutralizing protein in breast milk, Tenascin-C (TNC). TNC is an extracellular matrix protein important in fetal development and wound healing, yet its antimicrobial properties have not previously been established. Purified TNC captured and neutralized multiclade chronic and transmitted/founder HIV-1 variants, and depletion of TNC abolished the HIV-1-neutralizing activity of milk. TNC bound the HIV-1 Envelope protein at a site that is induced upon engagement of its primary receptor, CD4, and is blocked by V3 loop- (19B and F39F) and chemokine coreceptor binding site-directed (17B) monoclonal antibodies. Our results demonstrate the ability of an innate mucosal host protein found in milk to neutralize HIV-1 via binding to the chemokine coreceptor site, potentially explaining why the majority of HIV-1-exposed breastfed infants are protected against mucosal HIV-1 transmission.

Mother's milk technicians: a new standard of care.

When an infant is medically compromised or requires surgery shortly after birth, traditional breastfeeding is interrupted. In the United States, mothers of these medically complex infants often spend many hours using a breast pump to express their breast milk and store it for their baby to receive via a feeding tube or bottle until breastfeeding can be introduced. Often, additional calories, minerals, or modifications are made to mother's milk to meet the infant's needs. Many acute care pediatric facilities and neonatal intensive care units lack appropriate physical space for the preparation of fortified breast milk feedings, and the preparation of these feedings by nursing staff requires a significant investment of time. At Boston Children's Hospital, the innovative role of a mother's milk technician was created to provide preparation of breast milk utilizing standardized measurement of fortifiers by weight, prepared using an aseptic technique with standard operating procedures. The creative use of a "mobile" milk cart was implemented due to limited space allocated for formula lab and nutrition rooms. The development of this essential role has ensured optimal quality control of the storage and preparation of expressed human milk. Nursing compliance with breast milk identification procedures increases when time required for feeding preparation is minimized, preventing breast milk administration errors and reallocating valuable nursing time back to the patient.

Maternal cytomegalovirus-specific immune responses and symptomatic postnatal cytomegalovirus transmission in very low-birth-weight preterm infants.

INTRODUCTION: Transmission of cytomegalovirus (CMV) via breast milk can lead to severe acute illness in very low-birth-weight (VLBW) preterm infants. Although the majority of CMV-seropositive women shed CMV in milk, symptomatic postnatal infection of VLBW infants occurs infrequently, suggesting that virologic or immunologic factors in milk may be associated with the risk and severity of postnatal CMV infection. METHODS: We investigated the magnitude of CMV-specific cellular and humoral immune responses in milk of 30 seropositive mothers of VLWB preterm infants and assessed their relationship to milk CMV load and symptomatic CMV transmission. RESULTS: Milk immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity was inversely correlated to milk CMV load (r = -0.47; P = .009). However, milk CMV load and CMV-specific cellular and humoral immune responses were similar in mothers of VLBW infants with and those without symptomatic postnatal CMV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Similar immunologic parameters in milk of CMV-seropositive mothers of VLBW infants with and without symptomatic postnatal CMV infection indicate that screening milk by these parameters may not predict disease risk. However, the inverse correlation between milk CMV IgG avidity and CMV load may suggest that enhancement of maternal CMV-specific IgG responses could aid in reduction of CMV shedding into breast milk.

Breastfeeding success among infants with congenital heart disease.

It is a widespread misconception that infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) are not able to breastfeed. The purpose of this study was to describe breastfeeding duration and outcomes among a high-risk group of infants with CHD. Mothers of 68 infants at least 6 months of age, who had experienced cardiac surgery during the neonatal period, were surveyed regarding breastfeeding and milk expression habits. Results for this sample of infants were compared to a benchmark study conducted in 1993 at the same institution that described breastfeeding outcomes for 45 infants with CHD. Improved outcomes for the 1998-2000 sample are attributed to an active lactation consultation program instituted in 1998. These findings suggest that given support and education necessary to initiate and maintain lactation, mothers can successfully breastfeed their infants with CHD for durations recommended by the Healthy People 2010 initiative.