Clinical trial NCT01191970: Epidural Analgesia, Beta-Endorphin Concentrations in Colostrum, and Infant Neurobehavior as Breast-Feeding Predictors
Official title: Investigating Potential Determinants of Breast-Feeding Probability: Epidural Analgesia, Beta-Endorphin Concentrations in Colostrum, and Infant Feeding Behavior
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: WITHDRAWN
Conditions: Breastfeeding
Lactation
Analgesia
Keywords: epidural
beta-endorphins
breast-feeding
colostrum
feeding
Lead sponsor: MetroHealth Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2010-08-31
Enrollment: 0
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: This study is open to all women, aged 18 and over, who are inpatients on the postpartum floor of MetroHealth Medical Center following the vaginal delivery of a single, healthy neonate. A neonate is "healthy" if neither of the following two conditions exists: 1) admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) following delivery and 2) pathologies, in either mother or baby, that would be reasonably expected to impede normal breast-feeding activity.

Brief summary: Presently, the literature addressing the relationship between epidural analgesia and likelihood of breast-feeding is inconclusive. Numerous studies have found that epidurals, administered prior to vaginal delivery of a full-term, healthy neonate, significantly decrease lactation success at follow-up times ranging from 24 hours to 6 months postpartum. One proposed mechanism is that analgesics, by decreasing maternal pain during labor, decrease maternal endorphin production and result in the transmission of lower endorphin levels to the neonate during breast-feeding. Lower endorphin levels, in turn, may render the neonate less likely to suckle optimally. Other studies have found that epidural analgesia does not significantly decrease lactation success when used during the vaginal delivery of a full-term, healthy neonate.

Although most studies to date have compared the breast-feeding success of epidural recipients and non-recipients at various points postpartum, they do not specifically note whether deficient feeding behaviors on the part of the infant contribute to failed breast-feeding. The present study uses the LATCH assessment tool to score the infant's ability to latch onto the breast and the presence of audible swallowing, as well as the mother's level of physical comfort with breast feeding, whether she can successfully position the infant for feeding on her own, and whether her nipples are inverted, everted, or flat. Thus, the LATCH assessment enables the separation of multiple factors that may contribute to breast-feeding failure. A multivariate regression analysis will determine how strongly the probability of breast-feeding at hospital discharge correlates with epidural duration, LATCH scores, and beta-endorphin concentrations in colostrum.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 18 or over
* Vaginal delivery of a single live neonate at MetroHealth Medical Center's Main Campus

Exclusion Criteria:

* Delivery by Caesarean section
* Admission to the NICU following delivery
* Neonatal or maternal pathologies that would obviously impede normal breast-feeding activity

Primary outcomes:
measure: Breast-Feeding at Discharge
timeFrame: Entire duration of postpartum hospital stay, average 2 days
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Cleveland
country: United States
facility: MetroHealth Medical Center
state: Ohio
Study officials:
affiliation: Dept. of Anesthesiology, MetroHealth Medical Center
name: Charles E Smith, M.D.
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
citation: Baumgarder DJ, Muehl P, Fischer M, Pribbenow B. Effect of labor epidural anesthesia on breast-feeding of healthy full-term newborns delivered vaginally. J Am Board Fam Pract. 2003 Jan-Feb;16(1):7-13. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.16.1.7.
citation: Beilin Y, Bodian CA, Weiser J, Hossain S, Arnold I, Feierman DE, Martin G, Holzman I. Effect of labor epidural analgesia with and without fentanyl on infant breast-feeding: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Anesthesiology. 2005 Dec;103(6):1211-7. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200512000-00016.
citation: Chang ZM, Heaman MI. Epidural analgesia during labor and delivery: effects on the initiation and continuation of effective breastfeeding. J Hum Lact. 2005 Aug;21(3):305-14; quiz 315-9, 326. doi: 10.1177/0890334405277604.
citation: Henderson JJ, Dickinson JE, Evans SF, McDonald SJ, Paech MJ. Impact of intrapartum epidural analgesia on breast-feeding duration. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2003 Oct;43(5):372-7. doi: 10.1046/j.0004-8666.2003.t01-1-00117.x.
citation: Zanardo V, Nicolussi S, Carlo G, Marzari F, Faggian D, Favaro F, Plebani M. Beta endorphin concentrations in human milk. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2001 Aug;33(2):160-4. doi: 10.1097/00005176-200108000-00012.
citation: Kumar SP, Mooney R, Wieser LJ, Havstad S. The LATCH scoring system and prediction of breastfeeding duration. J Hum Lact. 2006 Nov;22(4):391-7. doi: 10.1177/0890334406293161.
citation: Volmanen P, Valanne J, Alahuhta S. Breast-feeding problems after epidural analgesia for labour: a retrospective cohort study of pain, obstetrical procedures and breast-feeding practices. Int J Obstet Anesth. 2004 Jan;13(1):25-9. doi: 10.1016/S0959-289X(03)00104-3.
citation: Gray L, Miller LW, Philipp BL, Blass EM. Breastfeeding is analgesic in healthy newborns. Pediatrics. 2002 Apr;109(4):590-3. doi: 10.1542/peds.109.4.590.