The celebration of World Breastfeediing Month 2020 continues. Most recently, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and Breastfeeding Medicine have shared a special curation of their most cited research from 2020 so far, as well as several other popular reports. 

Our favorites from the collection are those that sought to improve breastfeeding outcomes for low-income women or added to our otherwise short supply of evidence-based information about breastfeeding. These are pertinent to Momful's mission of helping all moms to reach their breastfeeding goals, including donating one product for every five sold.

1. Helping rural moms without access to in-person care:

The proliferation of telelactation has been occurring even prior to COVID forcing people into a more virtual way of life but until now, there haven't been any studies to understand the feasibility and impact that such a service can have for rural moms. This research found that telelactation is an acceptable form of breastfeeding support when in-person support isn't available. It suggests studying whether or not telelactation services would maintain, elevate, or reduce overall quality of care as a substitute to in-person care, when available. 

Read the full report here.

2. Improving breastfeeding outcomes for low-income infants: 

Breastfeeding rates among low-income infants participating in the WIC program are lower than national averages. The rise of the Baby-Friendly hospital designation, in which hospitals must successfully implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. This research showed that WIC participating infants had better breastfeeding outcomes when engaged in Baby Friendly practices but that overall, hospitals designated as such need to do a better job of maintaining their use of the Ten Steps. 

Read the full report here.
Read more about the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative here.

3. The effect of deep freezing your milk: 

Perhaps the only thing more precious than your baby is your freezer stash. This study called into question the impact on nutrients when stored at -20C vs. -80C, two common temperatures utilized by increasingly popular human milk banks. Ultimately, the research found that the composition of breastmilk was better maintained at the lower -80C (-112F) temperature however freezers that can cool to this temperature are quite expensive. For reference, most household freezers are capable of -18C/0. Not to fear though, the CDC recommends that frozen milk be stored at -18C/0F or lower.

Read the full report here.