MRI pilot study of breastfeeding mothers with their babies

The forces involved in the movement the baby*s mouth makes while the baby is
drinking at the breast are not fully known. The baby uses underpressure to
suckle milk from the breast, but he also uses his tongue to massage milk from
the breast through a peristaltic motion. The extent to which both mechanisms
contribute to the acquisition of milk are unknown.

Many lactating women also use a breast pump to express their milk. In this
case, some of these women suffer from a delay or total absence of the for this
process crucial milk ejection reflex, partly because the breast pump does not
stimulate the nipple in an effective way. It is therefore important to develop
a breast pump that does.

The most informative studies done in the field of the "mechanics" of
breastfeeding have been performed by putting an ultrasound transducer under the
chin of the breastfeeding baby to study the tongue motion of the baby. In this
case however, the tip of the tongue cannot be visualized because of the
presence of the mandible and imaging of the interface between tongue and nipple
is limited by the use of ultrasound.

MRI can complement the limitations of ultrasound. By having MRI images of a
breastfeeding baby, the understanding of breastfeeding increases, leading to
the development of better breastfeeding products and better breastfeeding
advice. This in turn can lead to the prevention or resolution of
breastfeeding-related problems, leading to prolonged breastfeeding, leading to
improved health of mother and child.

The objective of this study is to better understand the forces and tongue
movements that a baby uses while drinking at the breast and to what extent they
contribute to effective feeding.

This study is a non-therapeutic observational pilot study of healthy subjects.

Three mothers with their babies will be asked to breastfeed inside and MRI
scanner. The mothers and babies will be lying on their sides, on top of a
spinal MRI coil. While the baby is being breastfed, a time series of MRI images
will be taken of the mid-sagittal plane of the baby's mouth surrounding the
nipple of the mother.

The only burden and / or risks in this study are related to the method of MRI,
which is generally accepted:

- There is a risk of disturbance of a breastfeeding session, since it takes
place in unusual circumstances, namely in an MRI scanner which also makes
noise, and because of the use of hearing protection for mother and baby, which
may not be accepted by the baby.

- There is a risk of peripheral nerve stimulation of mother and baby, but this
can largely be prevented by proper positioning of the baby and mother with
respect to the coil that will be used.

Given the low number of babies that are breastfed, partly by misunderstanding
and myth making about breastfeeding, while breastfeeding is proven to bring
health benefits to mother and child, this scientific pilot study is justified.