Diurnal rhythmicity in breast-milk glucocorticoids, and infant behavior and sleep at age 3 months.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

In previous studies, associations between breast-milk cortisol levels obtained on one occasion and infant neurodevelopment were demonstrated. However, more recent evidence indicates that breast-milk cortisol and cortisone concentrations follow the diurnal rhythm of maternal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, peaking in the early morning and with a nadir at midnight. We studied associations between breast-milk glucocorticoid (GC) rhythmicity, and infant behavior and sleep.

Methods

We included 59 mothers, and their infants, of whom 17 had consulted an expert center during pregnancy for an increased risk of psychological distress. At 1 month postpartum, breast milk was sampled (on average six times) over a 24 h period for assessment of cortisol and cortisone using LC-

SUBMITTER: Toorop AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7308244 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature