Know the Common Causes of Breast Pain

Women of all ages report having breast pain, also known as mastalgia. Pain can occur both before and after the menopause. However, breast pain is most common in younger menstruating women.

While nearly 70 percent of women report breast pain at some point during their lives, only around 15 percent require medical treatment.

The severity and location of breast pain can vary. Pain can occur in both breasts, one breast, or in the underarm. Severity can range from mild to severe and is typically described as tenderness, sharp burning, or tightening of the breast tissue.

Hormonal changes due to events such as menstruation, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause can also have an effect on the type of breast pain experienced.

Read more: Common Causes of Breast Pain

Breast pain can sometimes occur alongside changes in the menstrual cycle. Oral hormonal contraceptives
can lead to breast pain in some cases.

Source: medicalnewstoday

MCQ 8. A Pregnant Woman with a Lactase Deficiency

MCQ 8. A pregnant woman who has a lactase deficiency and cannot tolerate milk in her diet is concerned that she will not be able to produce milk of sufficient caloric value to nourish her baby. 

What should she be advised?

a. She must eat pure galactose in order to produce the galactose moiety of lactose.

b. She will not be able to breast feed her baby because she cannot produce lactose.

c. Production of lactose by mammary glands do not require ingestion of milk or milk products.

d. She can produce lactose by degrading alpha-lactalbumin.

e. She must eat pure fructose which will be converted to galactose moiety of lactose.

Answers

Breast milk hormones found to impact bacterial development in infants' guts

Intestinal microbiome of children born to obese mothers significantly different from those born to mothers of healthy weight

A new study finds that hormones in breast milk may impact the development of healthy bacteria in infants' guts, potentially protecting them from intestinal inflammation, obesity and other diseases later in life.

The study, published Monday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examines the role of human milk hormones in the development of infants' microbiome, a bacterial ecosystem in the digestive system that contributes to multiple facets of health.

"This is the first study of its kind to suggest that hormones in human milk may play an important role in shaping a healthy infant microbiome," said Bridget Young, co-first author and assistant professor of pediatric nutrition at CU Anschutz. "We've known for a long time that breast milk contributes to infant intestinal maturation and healthy growth. This study suggests that hormones in milk may be partly responsible for this positive impact through interactions with the infant's developing microbiome."

Researchers found that levels of insulin and leptin in the breast milk were positively associated with greater microbial diversity and families of bacteria in the infants' stool.

Read more: Breast milk hormones found to impact bacterial development in infants' guts

A new study examined the role of human milk hormones in the development of infants' microbiome

Source: ricardoferrando/Fotolia