Pioneering methods to unravel lactation insufficiency

Project Information

LactIns-and-outs

Grant agreement ID: 101040376

DOI

10.3030/101040376

EC signature date 9 February 2022

Start date 1 April 2022

End date 31 March 2027

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 500 000,00

EU contribution

€ 1 500 000,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LactIns-and-outs (Pioneering methods to unravel lactation insufficiency)

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2024-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Breastfeeding is important for both infant and maternal health. However, 10-15% of breastfeeding women fail to produce enough milk, while 40-50% give up early because of perceived insufficiency. As a result, only a minority meet the WHO recommendation to exclusively breastfeed during the first six months. To address this public health challenge, two key questions need to be solved: What do nursing infants actually drink? And how is this milk transfer regulated by mammary physiology?
In this project we pioneer new, quantitative methods that allow to solve these fundamental questions. Our key objectives are 1) to develop non-invasive optical tools to quantify milk transfer from the mother to the infant and 2) to map the causes of lactation insufficiency from the largely unexplored perspective of mammary physiology.
To solve these key objectives, we will develop novel optical methodologies to quantify milk flow and composition in real-time. In addition, we will apply diffuse optical breast imaging to learn more about the fundamentals of lactation physiology.
By engineering dedicated tools for lactation research, this project will enable a leap forward in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of both actual and perceived lactation insufficiency. In turn, this will lead to better breastfeeding support and improved individual and public health outcomes.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

This project is still ongoing. The main achievements so far involve 1) proof-of-principle for two of the optical technologies that are being developed within this project and 2) the evaluation of the efficacy and accuracy of several standard methodologies in lactation science, against the novel methods developed in this project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This project is still ongoing. The main achievements described above indicate that the optical methods under development can be used to solve currently unanswered questions in lactation science (see overall objectives).