It is a question University of Otago researchers hope to answer after receiving a $250,000 grant in the Emerging Researcher and Explorer Grants funding rounds this week.
Department of medicine senior research fellow Dr Lisa Daniels hopes to determine how much milk a breastfeeding baby is actually receiving, and how that compares to the mother’s perception of supply.
"The first 1000 days are the foundation for life-long health and wellbeing.
"Although exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until around 6 months of age, relatively few mothers in New Zealand reach this milestone.
"Perceived insufficient milk supply is reported to be a leading cause of early cessation of breastfeeding, yet it is currently unknown whether the perception of insufficient milk supply is associated with actual low breast milk supply," she said.
Dr Daniels said the study would include 150 mothers who were breastfeeding their 3-month-old babies and who had differing perceptions of how much milk their baby was receiving.
"To the best of my knowledge, this research will be the first using the gold standard stable isotope method to assess breast milk volumes.
"Put simply, to assess actual breast milk supply, the mother will drink a set quantity of deuterium oxide (D2O) — more commonly known as heavy water.
"Saliva samples collected from both mother and baby over a 14-day period will determine the amount of D2O consumed by the baby through breast milk, and therefore the amount of milk [the] baby is receiving."
She said the study would not only be beneficial to health professionals working with breastfeeding mothers with milk supply concerns, if the results suggested that perception of milk supply was not related to actual milk volumes produced, it could have physical and mental health benefits for mothers.
"There are many stressors on a new mother, and reducing a concern about the ability to supply sufficient amounts of milk to her infant may contribute to improved mental health and wellbeing," Dr Daniels said.
"Evidence also suggests that early breastfeeding cessation is associated with an increased risk of postpartum depression, and we know that continued breastfeeding reduces mothers’ risk of breast and ovarian cancers and non-communicable diseases such as type-2-diabetes."
The grant was one of nine given to the university for research projects.
