Listeriosis is a rare but severe foodborne disease caused by (LM), a small facultative intracellular bacillus. When occurring in pregnant women, it can be vertically transmitted to the fetus and the newborn. Infected women usually display aspecific and mild symptoms, and rarely develop the severe forms of the disease (such as neurolisteriosis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman Milk is the best option for infant feeding; and for this reason, it should be promoted, protected, and supported. HM is an individual-specific-dynamic biofluid, characterized by an extreme variability in its composition. A wealth of literature has investigated how HM is related to healthy development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe primary purpose of this practical overview is to provide a practical update on appropriate nutritional strategies to improve growth in preterm infants. Current recommendations for improving preterm growth concern both macronutrients and micronutrients, with tailored nutrition since the first days of life, particularly when fetal growth restriction has been reported. Human milk is undoubtedly the best nutrition for all newborns, but, in some populations, if not adequately fortified, it does not adequately support their growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFortification of human milk (HM) is often necessary to meet the nutritional requirements of preterm infants. The present experiment aimed to establish whether the supplementation of HM with either an experimental donkey milk-derived fortifier containing whole donkey milk proteins, or with a commercial bovine milk-derived fortifier containing hydrolyzed bovine whey proteins, affects peptide release differently during digestion. The experiment was conducted using an in vitro dynamic system designed to simulate the preterm infant's digestion followed by digesta analysis by means of LC-MS-MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast milk (BM) is a unique food due to its nutritional composition and anti-inflammatory characteristics. Evidence has emerged on the role of Presepsin (PSEP) as a reliable marker of early sepsis diagnosis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the measurability of PSEP in BM according to different maturation stages (colostrum, C; transition, Tr; and mature milks, Mt) and corrected for delivery mode and gender.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Preterm infants are at high risk for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), with potential life-long visual impairment. Low fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels predict ROP. It is unknown if preventing the HbF decrease also reduces ROP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Particulate contamination due to infusion therapy (administration of parenteral nutrition and medications) carries a potential health risk for infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). This particulate consists of metals, drug crystals, glass fragments, or cotton fibers and can be generated by drug packaging, incomplete reconstitution, and chemical incompatibilities. In-line filters have been shown to remove micro-organisms, endotoxin, air, and particles in critically ill adults and older infants, but its benefits in newborn remain to be demonstrated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Identifying high-risk neonates with abnormal fetal growth is crucial for health risk prediction and early intervention. Small for gestational age (SGA) and large for gestational age (LGA) classifications highlight neonates having a higher risk for postnatal diseases. Accurate diagnosis depends on precise anthropometric measurements and appropriate reference data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince human milk contents does not meet the high need of very low birth weight infants, fortification of breast milk is a standard practice for this population. As donkey milk has been long considered for children allergic to cow's milk proteins due to its low allergic properties, a new donkey milk-derived fortifier (DF) has been recently evaluated as a valid alternative to bovine milk-derived fortifier (BF). It seems to improve feeding tolerance when compared with standard BF, with similar neurodevelopmental and auxological outcome at 18 months of age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Breastfeeding naturally enables the coordination of sucking, swallowing, and respiration patterns for safe feeding. When breastfeeding is not possible a feeding device that releases milk in response to intra-oral vacuum could potentially offer improved coordination of sucking, swallowing, and breathing patterns compared to conventional devices. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of a valved infant-bottle with an ergonomic teat compared to a standard infant-bottle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Infect Dis
March 2024
Objectives: To describe how SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of delivery affected maternal and neonatal outcomes across four major waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.
Methods: This is a large, prospective, nationwide cohort study collecting maternal and neonatal data in case of maternal peripartum SARS-CoV-2 infection between February 2020 and March 2022. Data were stratified across the four observed pandemic waves.
Background: Human Milk (HM) is a dynamic nourishment; its composition is influenced by several conditions such as gestational age, maternal diet and ethnicity. It appears important to evaluate the impact that gestational pathologies have on HM components and if their presence, as a source of oxidative stress in the mother, influence milk's redox homeostasis. To assess the effect of Preeclampsia (PE) and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) on some aspects of human milk redox homeostasis, we chose to investigate both oxidative and antioxidant aspects, with, respectively, Lipid hydroperoxides (LOOHs) and Glutathione (GSH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is known that preeclampsia affects lactogenesis. However, data on the effects of this pathology on human milk neurobiomarker composition are not available. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of this gestational pathology on activin A levels, a neurobiomarker known to play an important role in the development and protection of the central nervous system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman milk (HM) is considered the best source of nutrition for infant growth and health. This nourishment is unique and changes constantly during lactation to adapt to the physiological needs of the developing infant. It is also recognized as a potential route of transmission of some viral pathogens although the presence of a virus in HM rarely leads to a disease in an infant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreterm birth, defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation, is a major public health concern. It affects about 10% of all newborns globally and is the main cause of infant death and morbidity. Prematurity increases the likelihood of respiratory distress syndrome, cerebral palsy, and developmental abnormalities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Respiratory distress syndrome and feeding intolerance are common conditions that are often associated with preterm infants. Showing similar efficacy, nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) and heated humidified high-flow nasal cannula (HHHFNC) are the most widespread noninvasive respiratory support (NRS) in neonatal intensive care units, but their effect on feeding intolerance is unknown.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of NCPAP vs HHHFNC on high-risk preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome.
Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading cause of congenital infections resulting in severe morbidity and mortality among newborns worldwide. Although both the host's and the virus' genetic backgrounds contribute to the outcome of infections, significant gaps remain in our understanding of the exact mechanisms that determine disease severity.
Objectives: In this study, we sought to identify a correlation between the virological features of different HCMV strains with the clinical and pathological features of congenitally infected newborns, therefore proposing new possible prognostic factors.
Introduction: The measurement of pain is the fundamental prerequisite for its proper management. Since newborns are unable to communicate verbally, neonatal algometric scales have been developed. However, no gold standard has been identified yet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMinerva Pediatr (Torino)
December 2022
Background: Eye examinations for ROP screening in preterm newborns are characterized by two main problems: infection control and poor tear secretion. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of ocular infection and to protect the ocular surface, netilmicin eye drops are usually used after the exams. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ozonated-oils eyedrops during the eye examination of preterm babies in the screening for ROP, sparing the use of antibiotics eyedrops.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multiple sclerosis does not seem to adversely affect fetal and neonatal outcomes, although some studies reported a possible reduction in mean birth weight and length, and a higher incidence of preterm delivery, mainly in relation to the exposure to disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) during pregnancy. Few data are available on intrauterine fetal growth and postnatal somatic development of newborns from mothers with multiple sclerosis compared to those from healthy women. For these reasons, we decided to investigate fetal growth, neonatal anthropometric parameters, and postnatal somatic development up to 12 months of life in offsprings from MS mothers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMoral distress (MD) in healthcare providers is widely recognized as a serious issue in critical care contexts. It has the potential to have negative impacts on both personal and professional wellbeing, the quality of care provided and staff turnover. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between MD and burnout among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) healthcare professionals and identify the possible factors associated with its occurrence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFortification of human milk (HM) is often necessary to meet the nutritional requirements of preterm infants. This study sought to establish whether HM supplemented with an experimental donkey milk-derived fortifier (DMF) or a commercial bovine milk-derived fortifier (BMF) affected digestion, using an in vitro dynamic system at the preterm stage. Particle size in gastric phase was higher in DMF than in BMF, due to protein aggregates surrounding lipid globules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multiple gestations represent a considerable proportion of pregnancies delivering in the late preterm (LP) period. Only 30% of LP twins are due to spontaneous preterm labor and 70% are medically indicated; among this literature described that 16-50% of indicated LP twin deliveries are non-evidence based. As non-evidence-based delivery indications account for iatrogenic morbidity that could be prevented, the objective of our observational study is to investigate first neonatal outcomes of LP twin pregnancies according to gestational age at delivery, chorionicity and delivery indication, then non evidence-based delivery indications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
December 2022
Background: The late preterm (LP) rate in Western countries is 3-6% of all births, accounting for about two-thirds of the entire preterm population. However, all LP babies are not the same.
Aims: To identify pregnancies at risk for adverse outcomes in the LP period, we investigated how gestational age (GA) at delivery, delivery indication and prenatal risk factors may affect neonatal outcomes.
J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
December 2022
Background: The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published a clinical protocol for Human Milk storage, recommending refrigeration at a temperature of 4 °C up to 4 d as the optimal conditions for the safety and bactericidal capacity of Human Milk. However, few studies were conducted to evaluate the change in milk composition during this type of refrigeration storage.
Aim: To elucidate some uncertainties regarding the Human Milk composition and prolonged cold storage, we have investigated the effects of storage at 4 °C up to 96 h on an important category of oxidative stress markers: the Isoprostanes (F2-isoprostanes, F4-neuroprostanes and F3-isoprostanes).