Breast-feeding success among infants with phenylketonuria.
Breast milk is the nutrition of choice for human infants (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005; American Association of Family Physicians, 2008; Association of Women's Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, 2005; Canadian Paediatric Society, 2005; U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2008; World Health Organization, 2009). In comparison to standard commercial formula, human breast milk has a lower concentration of protein and a lower content of the amino acid phenylalanine (Phe). For infants with phenylketonuria (PKU), these attributes of human breast milk make it ideal as a base source of nutrition. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence and duration of breast-feeding and corresponding Phe levels of breast-fed and formula-fed infants with PKU in the caseload of a pediatric metabolic clinic at an urban tertiary-care medical center. Charts were reviewed for infants diagnosed with PKU beginning with 2005 and ending with 1980, the year no further breast-feeding cases were identified in the PKU population. During the first year of life, most of the infants, whether breast-fed or formula-fed, had similar mean Phe levels. However, the frequency distributions revealed that more breast-fed infants with PKU had Phe levels within the normal range (120-360 μmol/L) and were less likely to have low Phe levels (<120 μmol/L) than formula-fed infants with PKU. Further research is needed to understand how mothers manage breast-feeding in the context of PKU.
School of Nursing at Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA. bantawrs@ohsu.edu
Sandra A
SA
Banta-Wright
Kathleen C
KC
Shelton
Nancy D
ND
Lowe
Kathleen A
KA
Knafl
Gail M
GM
Houck
D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000097:blood*; D010661:Phenylketonurias / Q000097:blood*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors
D010649:Phenylalanine