This study was carried out to investigate the future plan for infant feeding practice and its associated factors among university students so as to develop focus for nutritional education program for the promotion of breastfeeding. The subjects were 301 students (males 130, females 171). The results obtained were as follows. In this survey, the subjects had a basic knowledge of breastfeeding and lactation, especially of the ingredient of breastmilk. However they were not well informed about the physiology and method of breastfeeding and benefits of breastfeeding for mothers. The average scores for attitude toward breastfeeding and lactation were 3.09 points on a 4 point scale, which indicated a slightly positive attitudes toward breastfeeding. However the participants had a negative attitude toward its emotional and practical aspects. Their future plan for infant feeding was breastfeeding 40.3%, formula feeding 3.0% and mixed feeding 56.7%. A concern was that the students showed a high rate with regard to a mixed feeding plan, and they decided this based on an incorrect knowledge of breastfeeding. The group who planned to breastfeed in the future (BF) showed higher scores with respect to knowledge and attitudes than those who planned to formula feed or mixed feed (FF + MF). Therefore, to encourage mothers to breastfeed and support breastfeeding, breastfeeding nutritional education is urgently needed among university students. In addition, nutrition education programs should promote the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and the physiology and practical method of breastfeeding. Also a practical and culturally sensitive course about food and nutrition is recommended to inform participants about breastfeeding.
Breast Feeding ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Infant* ; Lactation ; Mothers ; Physiology

Adult ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic ; Cholecystitis ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; physiology

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Catgut ; utilization ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; Lactation Disorders ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Postpartum Period ; physiology ; Qi ; Young Adult

As part of a survey of 600 women enrolled in a study of postpartum progesterone-only contraception (400 women who opted to use progesterone-only contraception and 200 controls) participants were asked about menstrual history and lactation experience. The mean longest menstrual cycle duration was found to be 29.5+/-SD3.5 days and the mean shortest cycle duration was 26.6+/-SD2.8 days. The mean duration of menstrual bleeding was 3.75+/-SD1.16 days. Few women reported menstrual period problems such as dysmenorrhoea (6.5%) and menorrhagia with clots (0.7%). However, 3% of the women reported irregular cycles with intervals of longer than 1 month. Overall the women reported breastfeeding their previous baby for a mean duration of 14 months. The group of women electing to use hormonal contraception reported that they had breastfed their last baby for 13.5+/-SD7.5 months while control women had done so for 14.1+/-SD9.4 months. The longest mean duration that women reported to have breastfed a previous infant was 19.5+/-SD9.6 months in the hormonal contraception group and 19.1+/-SD8.6 months in the control group.
Adult ; Breast Feeding ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation - physiology ; Menstruation - physiology ; Papua New Guinea - epidemiology

The aim of this study is to evaluate pituitary-ovarian function at different postpartum periods during the lactational amenorrhea in order to understand the mechanism by which puerperal lactation is associated with a protracted period of amenorrhea and natural infertility. Ninety four lactating women and 119 lactating women with menstruation, aged between 21 and 38 years, volunteered for this study. The pituitary was relatively insensitive to LH-RH during the first 3 weeks following delivery. The recovery of FSH responsiveness to LH-RH occurred earlier than that of LH. Normal FSH response resumed in the 2nd week while the LH response, although not normal, started at the 3rd week postpartum. Pituitary responsiveness after the 5th week postpartum was similar to that occurring in normally menstruating women, except that FSH response was exagerated. Serum prolactin levels were elevated above 160 ng/ml until the 5th week postpartum and decreased to 84.2 ng/ml in the 6th week postpartum. It appears that at least one reason for anovulation during the first four weeks following delivery is the relative insensitivity of the pituitary to hypothalamic stimulation. Prolactin does not seem to modulate pituitary responsiveness to LH-RH. In order to clarify hormonal profiles during the lactational amenorrhea beyond the 5th week puerperium, serum levels of LH, FSH, prolactin, estradiol and progesterone were determined during different postpartum periods. Serum FSH and LH levels during 1-10 months postpartum were similar to basal levels seen during the normal menstrual cycle. Serum estradiol concentrations throughout 1-10 months postpartum, however, were significantly decreased as compared with the levels during the follicular phase of the normal menstrual cycle. Serum prolactin levels were elevated throughout 1-10 months postpartum in lactating amenorrhic women but decreased as the postpartum period lengthened. As compared with lactating amenorrhic women, lactating women with resumed menstruation showed a decrease in prolactin levels from 89.20 ng/ml to 51.39 ng/ml at 1-3 months, from 75.08 ng/ml to 49.99 ng/ml at 4-6 months, and from 54.73 ng/ml to 28.74ng/ml at 7-10 months postpartum. These results suggest that the apparent anovulation seen beyond 5th week postpartum during lactation was not due to pituitary insensitivity to LH-RH. Rather, prolactindependent mechanism interfering with cyclic activity may be operative during long term lactation.
Amenorrhea/etiology* ; Female ; Gonadorelin/pharmacology ; Gonadotropins, Pituitary/secretion ; Human ; Lactation* ; Ovary/physiology* ; Pituitary Gland/physiology* ; Pregnancy ; Prolactin/physiology ; Puerperium*

OBJECTIVETo explore an effective method for puerperant to lactate.

METHODSOne hundred and seven cases that were about to giving a birth in our hospital were randomly divided into an observation group (52 cases) and a control group (55 cases). Based on the routine hospital care, the patients in the observation group received auricular point sticking with vaccaria seed at Endocrine (CO18), Mammary Gland, etc. after 1 hour of childbirth, which was pressed 3 times daily, for 1-2 min each time. In the control group, routine hospital care was given, which didn't include auricular point sticking. The lactation volume, starting time of lactation and serum prolactin (PRL) were observed after 5 days of treatment.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, lactation volume in the observation group was more superior (P < 0.01). Rate I of lactation volume in the observation group was 51.9% (27/52), which was obviously higher than 27.3% (15/55) in the control group (P < 0 01). The starting time of lactation in the observation group was obviously earlier than that in the control group (P < 0 05). The content of PRL was apparently improved after one or two days of childbirth (both P < 0.05), and significantly increased after 5 days (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe auricular point sticking is a better method to promote lactation for puerperant, which could be beneficial to increasing the success rate of breastfeeding.

Acupuncture, Ear ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; Milk, Human ; secretion ; Postpartum Period ; physiology ; Young Adult

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of parity on milk production, body condition change, periparturient health, and culling in Korean dairy herds. The data utilized included; milk yield, body condition score, cow parity, calving condition, periparturient disorders, culling, and reproductive status, which were recorded from 1290 calvings in eight dairy herds. The mean milk yield in cows over 305 days increased with increasing parity (p < 0.01). Cows with parities of 3, 4, and 5 or higher lost more body condition than those with a parity of 1 during month 1 of lactation (p < 0.01), and body condition recovery by cows with parities of 4 and 5 or higher was slower (p < 0.01) than recovery by cows with parities of 1, 2, or 3 until month 3 of lactation. The risk of retained placenta, metabolic disorder, and endometritis also increased with advancing parity (p < 0.05). Moreover, the incidence of ovarian cysts was lower in cows with a parity of one than in cows with greater parities (p < 0.01). Culling rate due to reproductive failure also increased with advancing parity (p < 0.01). These results suggest that parity increases milk yield, body condition loss during early lactation, the risk of periparturient disorders, and culling due to reproductive failure in dairy herds.
Animals ; Body Composition/*physiology ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/*epidemiology/physiopathology ; Cesarean Section/veterinary ; *Dairying ; Dystocia/epidemiology/veterinary ; Female ; Korea/epidemiology ; Lactation/*physiology ; Parity/*physiology ; Pregnancy

BACKGROUNDInfancy is a critical period of growth and physiological development, in which breast milk is the best source of nutrients. Compared to western countries, research on breast milk of Chinese population are limited. Thus, it is necessary to measure breast milk energy and macronutrient concentrations of healthy urban Chinese mothers at different lactation stages, to expand the database of milk composition of Chinese population, and to examine whether dietary or other maternal factors can affect the levels of macronutrients in breast milk.

METHODSBreast milk of full expression of one side breast from 436 urban Chinese lactating mothers at 5-11 days, 12-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-120 days, and 121-240 days postpartum was obtained at 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Total energy, lactose, protein, and fat contents were measured. 24-hour dietary recall was surveyed, and maternal nutrient intakes were analyzed.

RESULTSMilk composition changed over the course of lactation and large individual variations were documented. The concentrations were 61.3 kcal/dl for total energy, 7.1 g/dl for lactose, 0.9 g/dl for protein, and 3.4 g/dl for fat in mature milk. Stage of lactation was a strong factor affecting milk composition. Minimal evidence was found for associations between maternal current dietary intake and milk macronutrient concentration, consistently with prior research. Maternal body mass index (BMI) was positively associated with milk fat content, to a greater extent than did dietary intake. All other maternal characteristics were not significant for milk composition.

CONCLUSIONThese findings suggest that milk composition is generally weakly associated with maternal factors except for stage of lactation, and is likely to be more susceptible to long-term maternal nutritional status than short-term dietary fluctuation.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; physiology ; Middle Aged ; Milk, Human ; chemistry ; Mothers ; Young Adult

To elucidate the changes in bone turnover during pregnancy and puerperium, we measured serially the levels of serum osteocalcin and urine deoxypyridinoline (Dpy) as markers of bone formation and bone resorption, respectively, in 22 healthy women with normal pregnancy. Nineteen non-pregnant women served as control. The Dpy levels increased significantly at 16 weeks of pregnancy and remained elevated thereafter. The levels of osteocalcin, however, were significantly decreased at 16 weeks of pregnancy and elevated later at 6 weeks postpartum. Bone turnover ratio (Dpy/osteocalcin) continued to rise during pregnancy, but returned to control levels 6 weeks after delivery. Dpy levels and bone turnover ratio during puerperium tended to be higher in 17 breast-feeding women than those of 5 exclusive bottle-feeders. In conclusion, bone resorption begins to increase from the second trimester of pregnancy and calcium release from bone tissue might play a major role in calcium homeostasis during the whole period of pregnancy as well as during lactation.
Adult ; Amino Acids/urine ; Analysis of Variance ; Biological Markers* ; Bone Resorption/physiopathology* ; Calcium/metabolism ; Female ; Human ; Lactation/physiology ; Osteocalcin/blood ; Osteoporosis/physiopathology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications/physiopathology* ; Puerperium/physiology*

OBJECTIVETo explore the efficacy of Tuina for postpartum lactation and work out a optimal protocol involved.

METHODSWith a randomized, controlled and clinical method, 84 primiparas were divided into a Tuina group and a control group. While patients in the control group received rooming-in conventional managements, those in the Tuina group were additionally treated with Tuina, including local manipulations on breasts combined with acupoint manipulations. The colostrum-time, lactation quantity and prolactin were observed to make the comparisons between two groups.

RESULTSThe scores of lactation quantity after 1th, 2nd, 3rd of the treatment were 1.660 +/- 0.785, 2.530 +/- 1.030, 2.880 +/- 1.171 in Tuina group and 1.270 +/- 0.533, 1.460 +/- 0.811, 1.500 +/- 0.583 in control group respectively, where there were significant differences in each time stage between two groups (all P < 0.001). The time of colostrum was (21.6 6 +/- 10.508) h in the Tuina group and (22.5 +/- 9.762) h in the control group, in which the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The levels of prolactin (314.35 +/- 110.37) ng/mL and (321.56 +/- 109.61) ng/mL in Tuina group, (385.78 +/- 85.19) ng/mL and (340.12 +/- 103.10) ng/mL in control group before and after treatment, there were no significant differences (both P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPostpartum Tuina on breasts could increase the quantity of lactation and delay the decreasing of the levels of prolactin, which contributes primiparas to lactate more and sooner.

Adult ; Amobarbital ; Breast ; secretion ; Breast Feeding ; Colostrum ; secretion ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; Milk, Human ; secretion ; Postpartum Period ; physiology ; Prolactin ; metabolism ; Secobarbital ; Young Adult