Abstract Background and Objective: Increasing the amount of breastmilk is vital for both the nursing mother and child. Warming up breasts before using electrical pumps to pump out breastmilk may help to increase the amount of breastmilk, especially in the mothers of babies who are being nursed in the neonatal intensive care unit. Subjects and Methods: Thirty-nine mothers whose babies had been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit were analyzed. A breast compress that was warmed up in a microwave oven for 1 minute at 180 W was applied to one of the breasts for 20 minutes, and both breasts were sucked by an electrical breast pump for 15 minutes. The amount of breastmilk after each procedure was recorded. Results: The amount of breastmilk that was obtained from warmed breasts was significantly higher than that obtained from nonwarmed breasts (maximum, 47.02±23.01 mL vs. 33.15±19.98 mL) (p=0.000). Conclusion: Warming up breasts by a breast compress is easy and affordable, and this procedure increases the amount of breastmilk, thus facilitating infant nutrition and recovery especially in the neonatal intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect differences between acupoint Tuina and simple instruction and education to improve the lactation of the parturient after delivery.

METHODS:Fifty-six cases of primipara were divided into an acupoint Tuina group (28 cases) and a control group (28 cases) according to the order of entering group, the acupoint Tuina group was treated with Tuina intervention at local acupoint of the breast and distant acupoint on the basis of the instruction and education of breast feeding; the control group was treated with simple instruction and education of breast feeding. The differences of lactation amount, the level of serum prolactin at 48 h after delivery and the time start to lactate of the parturient in both groups were observed.

RESULTS:The serum prolactin of the parturient at 48 h after delivery of (416.33 +/- 144.29) ng/mL in acupoint Tuina group was obviously higher than that of (320.06 +/- 187.55) ng/mL in control group, there were much more parturient with sufficient milk in acupoint Tuina group after treatment, and the time start to lactate was earlier than that of control group.

CONCLUSION:The acupoint Tuina is good for parturient to lactate early and lactate more, it is necessary to make further research.

OBJECTIVES:The aim of this study was to evaluate whether consumption of maternal herbal tea containing fenugreek had any effects on breast milk production and infants' weight gain pattern in the early postnatal period.

DESIGN AND SUBJECTS:Sixty-six (66) mother-infant pairs were randomly assigned to 3 groups. Group 1 (n = 22) consisted of mothers who were receiving herbal tea containing fenugreek every day. Group 2 (n = 22) and group 3 (n = 22) were assigned as placebo and controls, respectively.

OUTCOME MEASURES:Birth weight, loss of birth weight, time of regain of birth weight, amount of breast milk assessed on the third day after delivery were determined.

RESULTS:Maximum weight loss was significantly lower in infants in group 1 compared to both the placebo and control groups (p < 0.05). Infants in group 1 regained their birth weight earlier than those in control and placebo groups (p < 0.05). The mean measured breast milk volume of the mothers who received galactagogue tea was significantly higher than the placebo and control groups (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:Maternal galactagogue herbal tea supplementation seems to be useful for enhancing breast milk production and facilitating infant birth weight regain in early postnatal days.

PURPOSE:: Maternal breast milk is considered the nutritional"gold standard"for all infants, especially premature infants. However, preterm mothers are at risk of not producing adequate milk. Multiple factors affect the production of milk, including stress, fatigue, and the separation of the breastfeeding dyad-for example, when mother or infant is hospitalized. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of listening and visual interventions on the quantity and quality of breast milk produced by mothers using a double electric breast pump.

SUBJECTS:: Mothers of 162 preterm infants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups.

METHODS:: The control group received standard nursing care, whereas mothers in the 3 experimental groups additionally listened to a recording of 1 of 3 music-based listening interventions while using the pump.

RESULTS:: Mothers in the experimental groups produced significantly more milk (P<.0012). Mothers in these groups also produced milk with significantly higher fat content during the first 6 days of the study.