Mothers in Need of Lactation Support May Benefit from Early Postnatal Galactagogue Administration: Experience from a Single Center

Background: Galactagogues are substances that promote lactation, although data on their effects on humans remain limited. We investigated the efficacy of Silitidil to increase milk supply and duration of breastfeeding of a specific subgroup of mothers in need of lactation support. Methods: 161 mothers from November 2018 until January 2021 were the study subjects in this retrospective study; during their hospitalization, due to neonatal or maternal factors that inhibited lactation, they were prescribed galactagogues. Mothers were surveyed by telephone interview via a 13-item questionnaire. Results: 73.91%, were primigravidas, 78.26% gave birth by cesarean section (CS) and 72.05% continued to take galactagogues after hospital discharge. Of the neonates, 24.22% were preterm ≤37 weeks of gestation, and 55.9% had birth weight (BW) between 2500 and 3500 g. With respect to breastfeeding rates, 100% were breastfed during their first week, 98.8% breastfed during the first month, 87% during the first 4 months, dropping to 56.5% at 6 months, 41% at 1 year and 19.3% over 1 year of age. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that administration of a galactagogue containing Silitidil (Piulatte-Humana) improves breastfeeding rates at from 1 until 12 months of life in mothers with low milk supply during their hospital stay. Further studies are needed to generate evidence-based strategies to improve breastfeeding outcomes.

Microbiological Quality Assessment and Identification of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria at Different Stages of the Milk Supply Chain in Dhaka City of Bangladesh

Aims: Milk works as an excellent medium for bacterial growth and can turn into a fatal source of food borne diseases when consumed without pasteurization. This study was carried out to examine the microbiological quality of milk from three different points of milk supply chain to investigate whether the dairy stakeholders are maintaining the consumer safety or not. Study Design: A cross sectional study Place and Duration: The study took place at the Food Microbiology lab of Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka from November 2019 to February 2020. Methodology: A total of 60 samples were studied including raw milk from collection centers, unpackaged pasteurized milk from processing plants and packaged pasteurized milks from retail shops. After carrying out the microbiological analysis the samples were examined for determining the total bacterial count (TBC) and total coliform count (TCC). Antibiotic susceptibility test was done using disk diffusion assay and detection of virulent gene in Salmonella spp. was done by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using specific invA primer. Results: The results revealed that all raw milk samples were substandard in terms of TBC and TCC and pasteurized milks from processing plants maintained the standard quality. Importantly, packaged pasteurized milk samples from retail shops had high TBC (>4.0× 104 CFU/mL) and TCC (1.2×103 CFU/mL) containing Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Streptococcus, Salmonella, Proteus, Staphylococcus, Bacillus and E. coli. Bacteria like Salmonella (75%), Proteus (62.5%) and Vibrio (62.5%) possessed high Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index and showed resistance towards antibiotics namely Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Erythromycin and Colistin. Through further molecular analysis we detected invA virulent gene one of the Salmonella isolates which was collected from the pasteurized milk samples of the retail shops. Conclusion: High bacterial load in raw milk and packaged pasteurized milk indicate that the milk we consume is substandard in microbiological quality. Precautionary measurements and careful processing of milk may reduce the prevalence of microbiological contamination in the milk supply chain.

Instrument Development and Psychometric Validation using Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Breastfeeding Relationship Scale

Background and PurposeThe Breastfeeding Relationship Scale (BFRS) was developed to measure mother–infant mutual responsiveness during breastfeeding. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the BFRS.MethodsConstruct validity of a 16-item three-factor model (Mother–Infant Breastfeeding Interaction, Perceived Adequate Milk Supply, and Breastfeeding Synchronicity) was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) across two independent samples.ResultsCFA of the hypothesized three-factor model demonstrated good fit in both samples (comparative fit index > .90, root mean square error of approximation < .06, square root mean residual < .06l). Cronbach’s alpha for the constructs ranged between .73 and .83.ConclusionThe BFRS is a valid measure of breastfeeding relations between mother and infant. Reliability was acceptable for all constructs in both samples.