Photo: Getty Images
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Researchers at UMass Amherst and UMass Chan Medical School Baystate will soon be recruiting new moms to participate in a breastfeeding study.
The two schools, as well as New Mexico Health University, received a 5-year $3.3 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health to study breastfeeding and lactation health. They plan on recruiting 200 new mothers from Springfield, Mass., and 200 from Albuquerque N.M.
Associate Professor Dr. Sallie Schneider said one of the main focuses of the study will be on bacteria, both good and bad.
“Many of them are good bacteria that are important to establishing infant health, and then some of them might not be so good,” said Schneider. “They might enhance inflammation in the breast. That might contribute to a low milk supply.”
Schneider also said they will be paying attention to how mental health can affect breastfeeding.
“Stress and depression and all these things will contribute. We have to take that into consideration as well,” said Schneider.
Many health experts recommend exclusively breastfeeding in the first six months, but according to the CDC, around 60 percent of new mothers struggle to do that. Inadequate milk supply was the most common reason.
WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok