Much has been written about how to sleep safely with a baby. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has been, and continues to be, a major fear for families and professionals alike. SIDS is estimated to have an incidence of between 1 and 4 per 1000 live births. The epidemiology of SIDS is still unknown, and its diagnosis is reached by ruling out other causes. Some studies associate how and where the baby sleeps with the increase of this syndrome. For…
The FreLac team (1), with extensive experience in the care of ankyloglossia, has recently published an article proposing a new classification for tongue-tie (more on its prevalence here). Until now, the most commonly used classifications have been mainly anatomical, focusing on the appearance of the frenulum without taking into account its symptomatology. The FreLac team’s proposal takes into consideration both, the anatomy and the related symptomatology. They propose 4 types of limiting sublingual frenulum: Anterior tongue-tie This is a frenulum…
At the end of September, the scientific journal International Journal of Medical Informatics published an article on the evaluation of user usability and usefulness of LactApp. Here we summarize the article. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the usability and usefulness of LactApp as a mobile app to support breastfeeding. In addition, it also aimed to evaluate the satisfaction of breastfeeding mothers with the breastfeeding support received from health professionals, their families, and society. Methodology A prospective…
In August 2023, the Cochrane Library published a literature review on the use of breastfeeding or expressed breast milk for pain relief in neonatal procedures. Within routine procedures of care in healthy newborns, as well as in pathological situations, it is quite common to have procedures that can be painful, such as performing heel prick tests or obtaining blood samples. On many occasions, different strategies are used to alleviate the newborn’s pain during the performance of these techniques. There are…
Authors Sofia Gaggiotti Marre, MD, PhDGynecologist and Obstetrician Specialist physician in fertility treatmentsPuigvert Foundation-Sant Pau HospitalFertty, Spain Beatriz Álvaro Mercadal, MD, PhDPhD in Gynecology and ObstetricsSpecialist physician in fertility treatmentsPuigvert Foundation-Sant Pau Hospital Introduction Many women who are breastfeeding and must undergo fertility treatment to conceive a second child find that healthcare professionals advise or even oblige them to stop breastfeeding in order tocarry out treatment. Just as there are professionals who still advise against laser hair removal, surgery, or…
Supplementing milk, whether with breast milk and/or commercial formula milk, is recommended in certain circumstances when milk transfer is poor or when the mother decides to do so. However, we often still find that healthcare professionals recommend supplementing without an appropriate reason, making it difficult for the mother to establish and maintain breastfeeding. What is supplementing milk? It is understood as administering a variable quantity of milk that is offered to the baby once or several times a day after…
Hypergalactia (oversupply) is defined as breast milk production (or supply) that exceeds the volume required to meet the nutritional needs of a healthy infant. Symptoms The referred symptoms are centered on the sensation of hyperproduction (or breastmilk oversupply). Derived from this, physical complications appear, such as breast discomfort and/or pain, obstructions of milk ducts, increased mastitis episodes, spontaneous milk leakage, or even a painful ejection reflex. There are also a number of signs and symptoms in the newborn, such as…
In the context of mammals, humans are part of a group known as primates, and we follow the fundamental pattern of this category in terms of breastfeeding and weaning. Weaning is the process through which any mother and infant will transition, and its physiology must also be known. This pattern has developed over more than 65 million years of natural evolution to ensure an optimal survival rate for the primate offspring. It is presumed that this fundamental pattern has an…
Tandem breastfeeding is a practice that many families choose for different reasons, although it is rarely visible. Breastfeeding two babies of different ages may raise reluctance in healthcare professionals accompanying the mother and her babies or children. Therefore, we will explore the topic of supporting mothers in this stage a little deeper. When reviewing the published scientific evidence, we find that this is limited and not very robust, as is the case with many other breastfeeding topics. Definition of tandem…
The US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has approved the use of zuranolone for the treatment of postpartum depression in the USA. According to the data, a significant improvement is expected after the third day of treatment. Noelia Extremera, the psychologist specializing in perinatal mental health at LactApp, reflects on this news and the impact of treating the consequences and not the causes of a situation that pathologizes mothers. Problem solved, isn’t it? Women have an unrecognized but fundamental role…