Development and evaluation of a high-fidelity lactation simulation model for health professional breastfeeding education.

Background: A key reason for premature cessation of breastfeeding is inadequate support from healthcare providers. Most physicians and nurses do not feel confident in their ability to support families with breastfeeding initiation or maintenance. Increasing health professional confidence in clinical lactation skills is key to improving maternal and child health outcomes.

Interchanging Breast Pump Kit Brands Alters Breast Pump Suction Pressure.

Postpartum mothers express and store breast milk using a hospital-grade pump and manufacturer-specific kit (flanges, bottles, tubing, valves, and membranes). After hospital discharge, mothers may attempt to interchange kits from different manufacturers. The objective of this study is to determine whether pump performance is affected by the use of a different manufacturer's kit.

Human Milk Retains Important Immunologic Properties After Defatting.

Background: In neonatal chylothorax, thoracic lymphatic drainage is ineffective. The resultant effusions often require drainage, leading to a loss of immune components. Affected infants can be managed with formula or defatted human milk feedings low in long-chain triglycerides to decrease lymph production.

Gene transfer with inducible nitric oxide synthase decreases production of urea by arginase in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a vasodilator produced from L-arginine (L-Arg) by NO synthase (NOS). Gene therapy for hypertensive disorders has been proposed using the inducible isoform of NOS (iNOS). L-Arg also can be metabolized to urea and L-ornithine (L-Orn) by arginase, and L-Orn can be metabolized to proline and/or polyamines, which are vital for cellular proliferation.