Clinical Research Directory

Father-Focused Breastfeeding Education and Breastfeeding Outcomes

Breastfeeding is recommended as the optimal feeding method for infants during the first six months of life. Support from fathers or partners plays an important role in initiating and maintaining breastfeeding. However, most breastfeeding education programs mainly focus on mothers, and structured education directed to fathers is limited. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a short, structured, father-focused breastfeeding education given shortly after birth on paternal support behaviors and breastfeeding outcomes. Fathers of healthy term newborns will be randomly assigned to receive either a brief breastfeeding support education or routine care. Paternal support behaviors will be assessed using a validated questionnaire, and infant feeding outcomes will be evaluated during follow-up. The results of this study may help improve breastfeeding support strategies by involving fathers more actively in the early postnatal period.

At-the-Breast vs. Expressed Human Milk: Genesis of Infant Nutrition (BEGIN)

The purpose of this study is to define human milk (HM) as an ecosystem which investigators will then combine into temporal models of milk dynamics to accurately describe HM chronobiology. This study addresses 4 crucial public health gaps: 1) how breast milk changes over time and over the day, 2) how milk dynamics are related to infant sleep patterns, 3) how milk dynamics are related to infant microbiome dynamics, and 4) how all these relationships differ between infants fed directly at-the-breast vs pumped milk. These fundamental insights have been unknown until now, so that families who feed pumped breast milk are completely underserved. These results are critical to optimizing infant feeding and health outcomes for all infants receiving breast milk.

Nutrition Recommendation Intervention trialS in Children's Healthcare

NuRISH is a suite of clinical trials for children from low-income families which will determine whether primary healthcare prescription for: 1) Optimal breastfeeding with support from a mobile lactation consultant vs. usual care and 2) High-quality childcare starting at 1 year vs. usual care can prevent childhood obesity, and improve cardiovascular, developmental and mental health at 2 years of age.