Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Changes Human Colostrum Immune Composition.

Breast milk is considered a complete food for babies. Up to 7 days postpartum, it is known as colostrum, rich in immunological compounds, responsible for providing nutrition and ensuring immune protection. However, some maternal factors, such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), can change the concentration of bioactive compounds present in the colostrum and may affect the development of the newborn's immune system. The effect of GDM on colostrum cytokine, chemokine, and growth factors is not well described. Thus, the present study evaluated whether the occurrence of GDM changes the concentration of biomarkers in the colostrum. A cross-sectional study was carried out on postpartum women who had healthy pregnancies and women who had been diagnosed with GDM. A sample of colostrum was collected for Luminex analysis. Our results showed that GDM mothers had higher secretion of cytokines and chemokines in the colostrum, with a higher concentration of IFN-g, IL-6, and IL-15, and a lower concentration of IL-1ra. Among growth factors, we identified a decreased concentration of GM-CSF in the colostrum of GDM mothers. Thus, the data obtained support the idea that the disease leads to immune alterations in the colostrum.

Effects of Holder Pasteurization on Immune Composition of Human Milk.

Background: Human milk (HM) is the ideal food for newborn (NB) nutrition, it provides all macro and micronutrients for human growth and development and also contains bioactive compounds, which influence the development of the neonatal digestive and immune systems. The holder pasteurization process is essential to prevent NB infection from donated milk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to check whether or not holder pasteurization could impact the concentration of immune components in HM and the capacity to induce epithelial cell growth. Materials and Methods: The study was performed on raw and holder pasteurized (62.5°C/30 minutes) paired milk samples after submission to the freezing process in both phases. For cytokine and adipokine measurements, ELISA was performed on 40 individual samples of HM from single donors. For analyzes of epithelial cell growth, HuTu-80 cells were cultivated in Minimum Essential Eagle medium with 15% of raw or pasteurized milk, eight pairs of milk were used. Results: The results showed that no alteration was observed in the concentration of cytokine after milk holder pasteurization, and leptin concentration was reduced in holder pasteurized milk. The heat treatment also did not impact the capacity of breast milk to promote intestinal epithelial cell growth. Conclusions: The results showed that donated breast milk pasteurization has a small impact on the HM bioactive concentration compounds. This technique is important to avoid NB infection.

Factors Associated with Excessive Gestational Weight Gain Among Brazilian Mothers.

BACKGROUND: Gestational Weight Gain (GWG) is an important predictor of maternal and child health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study was carried out in a public maternity unit of a hospital in a Brazilian metropolis that aimed to evaluate the factors associated with excessive GWG. Data were collected on food consumption, anthropometry, and on socioeconomic, demographic, and health status. The GWG was obtained by consulting each woman's gestational record. The association between GWG and the other variables was assessed using the chi-square test with the Bonferroni correction, with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: We evaluated 98 mothers with a mean age of 25.4 ± 6.8 years and a postpartum time of 2.5 ± 1.2 days. Before pregnancy, 42.9% of this population was overweight. The mean GWG was 12.2 ± 6.5 kg, with 39.8% classified with excessive GWG. A higher prevalence of excessive GWG was observed among mothers who had higher per capita income (p = 0.003), had had cesarean delivery (p = 0.016), lower limbs edema (p = 0.012), and excess weight before pregnancy (p = 0.001). There was no significant association of GWG with eating habits. CONCLUSIONS: Excessive GWG is associated with socioeconomic and nutritional factors. Nutritional monitoring during prenatal care may favor effective interventions and contribute to positive outcomes for both maternal and child health.