EAPSI: Investigating the Relationship between Suction and Pressure as Applied by an Infant during Breastfeeding

Alatalo Diana L, Plano TX

Investigators

Abstract

Successful breastfeeding requires frequent removal of milk from the breasts. Infants use both pressure and suction to remove milk from the breast. Infants are more efficient than hand expression, which utilizes only pressure, or mechanical pumps, which utilize only vacuum. The PI, in collaboration with Dr. Donna Geddes, will utilize the equipment and techniques developed by the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group in Perth, Australia, to collect clinical data from mother-infant nursing pairs to establish a range of normal values for both pressure and suction in relationship to milk flow as seen in healthy infants nursing at the breast. The importance of breastfeeding is widely acknowledged but difficulty with milk removal is a leading cause for women to stop breastfeeding. While artificial means to express milk exist, women are more likely to experience problems with milk stasis with these methods when compared to infant milk removal at the breast. Artificial milk removal techniques currently utilize only one form of pressure ? vacuum or compression. Extensive research has examined the intra-oral vacuum created by infant suckling, but none has ever explored the oral peripheral pressure applied by the infant. This research will utilize specialized pressure sensors to measure the oral peripheral pressure while measuring all other forces and movements with the specialized equipment available at the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group in Perth, Australia, led by Dr. Donna Geddes. The results of this study will define the relative importance of each form of pressure in breastfeeding and advance the understanding of milk removal for both the scientific and medical community. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Australian Academy of Science.