Understanding how a mother's weight affects breast milk and her child's health
MOM2CHild Study: Leveraging systems biology toward discoveries in Maternal Obesity, Milk, and Translation To Child Health
This project aims to understand how a mother's weight during pregnancy might change her breast milk and affect her child's health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Cincinnati NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cincinnati, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11127378 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Breastfeeding is important for infant health, but we don't fully understand how it works or what might affect milk quality. Many pregnant women experience obesity, which can impact breastfeeding and potentially lead to health issues for their children, including a higher risk of childhood obesity. This project will use advanced methods to look closely at how a mother's weight and related health conditions might change her breast milk and influence her child's well-being. By taking a comprehensive look at these connections, we hope to gain a clearer picture of this important relationship.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants would be pregnant women with obesity and their children, likely followed from the third trimester through early childhood.
Not a fit: Patients who are not pregnant, do not have obesity, or are not breastfeeding may not directly benefit from this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us better support breastfeeding mothers and develop strategies to improve child health outcomes, especially for children whose mothers experienced obesity.
How similar studies have performed: While many smaller studies have hinted at connections between maternal obesity and milk components, this project uses a novel, comprehensive 'systems biology' approach to define these impacts more convincingly.
Where this research is happening
Cincinnati, United States
- University of Cincinnati — Cincinnati, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Morrow, Ardythe L — University of Cincinnati
- Study coordinator: Morrow, Ardythe L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.