Abstract

Introduction

Materials & Methods

Results

Discussion & Conclusion

References

Discussion
Board

There is a conclusive evidence that breast-feeding protects the infant against a wide range of infectious and other diseases. The need to store breast-milk for at least limited periods of time is unavoidable in a neonatal unit taking care of sick and pre-term new-born infants. Increasing numbers of mothers, even in the developing countries, have to go out to work soon after delivery, who still want to exclusively breastfeed their children. For the pre-term neonates, who are particularly susceptible to infection, the mothers milk may still be inadequate for the first few days, due to an inadequate suckling stimulation by the weak neonate. A number of studies were conducted to examine the effects of different storage methods on some anti-bacterial activities of human breast-milk are hereby reported. The breast-milk samples were found to become progressively more acidic during storage. While the bactericidal activities of refrigerated samples diminished rapidly, up to two-third of the original levels were maintained by freezing for more than 4 months. The ability of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) to adhere to suspended bacteria was gradually lost in frozen milk samples, while it was greatly enhanced for the first few days in refrigerated samples before sharply declining.

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Poster Number PAogundele0300
Keywords: human milk, bacteriolysis, pH, milk fat globule, complement system