Are there any clinical studies involving breastfeeding?

I am breastfeeding my first child and I was just wondering if anyone is researching any aspect of this topic. There are a lot of gray areas and unanswerable questions about breastfeeding, especially involving alcohol and nicotine. Many women wonder if they can have a glass of wine or a night on the town will nursing. Many women wonder whether they should breastfeed if they can't stop smoking. there should be someone trying to answer these questions with something more than an opinion.

Are there any clinical studies involving breastfeeding?
Effects of alcohol on breastfeeding and the breastfed baby:


- Alcohol does not increase milk production. In fact, babies nurse more frequently but take in less milk in the 3-4 hours after mom has had a drink, and one study showed a 23% decrease in milk volume with one drink (Mennella %26amp; Beauchamp 1991, 1993; Mennella 1997, 1999).


- 2+ drinks may inhibit let-down (Coiro et al 1992; Cobo 1974).


- One study showed changes in the infant's sleep-wake patterning after short-term exposure to small amounts of alcohol in breastmilk -- infants whose mothers were light drinkers slept less (Mennella %26amp; Gerrish 1998).


- Daily consumption of alcohol has been shown in the research to increase the risk for slow weight gain in the infant.


- Daily consumption of alcohol (1+ drinks daily) has been associated with a decrease in gross motor development (Little et al 1989).





Smoking while breastfeeding has been linked to:


- Earlier weaning. One study showed that the heaviest smokers tend to wean the earliest.


- Lower milk production


- Interference with milk let-down


- Lower levels of prolactin. The hormone prolactin must be present for milk synthesis to occur.


- One study (Laurberg 2004) indicated that smoking mothers who live in areas of mild to moderate iodine deficiency have less iodine in their breastmilk (needed for baby's thyroid function) compared to nonsmoking mothers. The study authors suggested that breastfeeding mothers who smoke consider taking an iodine supplement.
Reply:check out Dr. Thomas Hale (google him)- he has a website and book. He mainly deals with medications, but his website talks about how meds (and other things like alcohol) could travel into breastmilk. He's sorta the meds while bfeeding guru with lots of trials and real data. Report Abuse

Reply:La Leche League has answers (that have been compiled from many medical sources) for your questions. Check out their book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding."





Dozens, if not hundreds, of studies have been conducted throughout the past decades.