URI Nursing
professor‘s breastfeeding study earns national award
A University of Rhode Island College
of Nursing professor’s groundbreaking study about newborn weight loss after
birth has earned her a “best research” award from a leading neonatal
publication.
University of Rhode Island Assistant
Professor Diane DiTomasso has been selected to receive the Journal of Human
Lactation’s 2019 Best Research Article with A Practice Focus award for her
article, “Neonatal Weight Matters: An Examination of Weight Changes in
Full-Term Breastfeeding Newborns During the First 2 Weeks of Life.”
The nurse researcher will be officially presented with the award on July 25 at the International Lactation Consultant Association’s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
The nurse researcher will be officially presented with the award on July 25 at the International Lactation Consultant Association’s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I was very excited and surprised
when I got word my article was chosen for an award,” DiTomasso said. “I was
also pleased because I think it is important to disseminate these findings to a
wider audience. The objective of the study was to figure out how much weight loss
is normal in the first two weeks of infancy.”
Health care professionals have generally agreed that infants should not lose more than 7 percent of weight after birth. Often, when weight loss is greater than 7 percent, formula is given to breastfed infants to help them gain weight.
However, during her years as a lactation consultant, DiTomasso has noticed it is common for babies to lose more than 7 percent and then gain weight adequately. Many people, she noted, are unaware that it is normal for newborns to lose weight at all.
“Oftentimes, when a woman hears that
her baby is losing too much weight, she may get scared and start using
formula,” DiTomasso said. “Of course, that decision is ultimately up to the
parents to make. But we want parents to be aware that a drop in birth weight is
to be expected and there are many health benefits of breastfeeding.”
DiTomasso’s study found that the
average breastfed baby loses 8 percent of birth weight and that it was common
for newborns to lose up to 10 percent of their body weight after birth.
More importantly, the study found that most babies who did lose more than seven percent in the first two weeks still gained weight at a similar pace afterward, compared to babies that lost less than 7 percent in the first two weeks.
More importantly, the study found that most babies who did lose more than seven percent in the first two weeks still gained weight at a similar pace afterward, compared to babies that lost less than 7 percent in the first two weeks.
DiTomasso hopes that her findings
will influence the decisions of future mothers and that they will continue to
exclusively breastfeed after the traditional 7 percent cutoff. She notes that
supplementing with formula can interfere with the breastfeeding routine and
cause the baby to lose out on the benefits of breastfeeding.
DiTomasso acknowledged the mothers
who participated in her study.
“I want to thank the moms who
participated in the study and weighed their babies every day,” said DiTomasso.
“They were all local mothers from South County Hospital.”