Breastfeeding News and Research

Latest Breastfeeding News and Research

Exercise during pregnancy links to lower infant BMI at one year

Supervised exercise during pregnancy may lower infant BMI and reduce obesity risk, highlighting the impact of maternal health on early growth trajectories.

4 Jun 2026

Survey reveals critical knowledge gaps in maternal health recommendations

Most Americans know that how well a mother takes care of herself before and during pregnancy affects the health of a baby, but many people remain unclear about some specific maternal health recommendations, including when to start avoiding alcohol, according to a new nationally representative survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

29 May 2026

Immediate kangaroo mother care boosts survival for premature infants

Preterm birth and low birth weight remain major contributors to neonatal death and long-term developmental challenges.

29 May 2026

Machine learning can help close pregnancy drug safety gaps

JMIR Publications today released a report on developments in the evidence gap in drug safety during pregnancy in its News and Perspectives section.

27 May 2026

Most Americans misunderstand which sexually transmitted infections have preventive vaccines

While data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the total number of U.S. cases of three sexually transmitted infections (STIs) declined from 2022-24, infection rates remain 13% higher than a decade ago. CDC provisional data show more than 2.2 million U.S. cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were reported in 2024.

21 May 2026

Perimenopause nearly doubles women’s odds of poor heart health

Perimenopause is linked to worsening cardiovascular health, with significant declines in lipid and glucose scores, emphasizing the need for early assessment.

15 May 2026

Perimenopausal women face higher risk of low heart health

Perimenopausal women were two times more likely to have a low cardiovascular health score compared to women having regular menstrual cycles, according to an analysis of nationwide U.S. data published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

13 May 2026

Physician mothers return to work sooner than many Canadian parents, study finds

Ontario physicians increased their workload in the first two trimesters of pregnancy, suggesting many may frontload clinical work before parental leave. Parental leave varied widely by specialty, with surgeons returning earliest and psychiatrists returning latest, highlighting persistent inequities in how medical practice supports childbearing physicians.

11 May 2026

Maternal screening could help prevent deadly forms of leukemia

A deadly form of leukemia may be stopped before it ever develops by introducing targeted maternal screening in the United States, according to new research.

30 Apr 2026

Maternal antibodies provide lifelong protection against adult gum disease

Mothers provide a hidden immune legacy that protects their children's teeth long after weaning is over. A new study reveals how maternal antibodies act as early life architects, programming the mouth to resist aggressive bacteria and prevent the bone loss associated with adult gum disease.

29 Apr 2026

Breastfeeding’s link to teen cognition emerges after researchers account for family background

A national study of 5,436 Chinese youths found that longer breastfeeding was not linked to cognition before adjustment, but was associated with modestly better math and word-recognition scores after socioeconomic factors were considered. The findings suggest that family socioeconomic patterns can mask breastfeeding-cognition associations, especially in settings where longer breastfeeding is more common among lower-SES households.

27 Apr 2026

Can doula care improve pregnancy outcomes?

The role of doulas in maternal care is evolving, with studies suggesting improved health outcomes, yet further research is needed for comprehensive insights.

27 Apr 2026

Scientists discover a biological "memory" of breastfeeding in child blood samples

Babies who are exclusively breastfed for at least three months carry markers in their blood that differ from babies who are not breastfed.

16 Apr 2026

Early epigenetic changes shape infant gut microbiome development

The gut microbiome and epigenetics-molecular switches that turn genes on or off-are intertwined, and both contribute to neurodevelopment, finds a study publishing April 10 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue.

10 Apr 2026

Study shows long-term weight benefits for breastfeeding mothers

Breastfeeding does not only affect your weight while you are breastfeeding. Women gain up to 6.5 kilos less on average later in life if they breastfeed for at least three months, according to a new study.

9 Apr 2026

Breastfeeding patterns in India differ between slum and non-slum neighborhoods

A new study from the University of Toronto shows that where a mother lives in an Indian city – in a slum or a non‑slum neighborhood – is linked to how she breastfeeds her baby.

8 Apr 2026

Weekly buprenorphine injections improve opioid abstinence during pregnancy

In a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a research team found that administering weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy led to higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids than buprenorphine given daily under the tongue (sublingual), one of the standard methods of treatment.

16 Mar 2026

Training game helps nurses spot fungal infections in breastfeeding

This educational game simulates breastfeeding complications, equipping nurses with skills to detect and manage fungal infections in the nipple-areola area.

11 Mar 2026

Review identifies sucrose as an effective pain reliever for hospitalized infants

Mariana Bueno, an Assistant Professor at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, is the lead author of a recently published Cochrane review investigating the administration of sucrose as a form of pain management for hospitalized infants who undergo venepuncture.

6 Mar 2026

Study finds toddlers who eat more ultra-processed foods show slightly higher behavioral symptoms

A prospective analysis of 2,077 children in the Canadian CHILD Cohort Study found that higher intake of ultra-processed foods at age three was associated with slightly higher behavioral and emotional symptom scores by age five. Modeling showed that replacing 10% of calories from ultra-processed foods with minimally processed foods was associated with modestly lower symptom scores.

5 Mar 2026