Doctoral Dissertation Research: Inflammation and mother-infant dynamics in an industrialized environment

人类生物学的基础研究提供了对母乳喂养的复杂性的深入了解，母乳喂养是一种独特的母亲投资形式，对后代的暗示做出反应，对环境输入敏感，并能够影响短期和长期的后代结果。虽然这项研究的大部分集中在婴儿生理学的影响，相对较少的是知道的生物学决定因素和母亲母乳喂养的做法的影响。这个博士论文项目将调查母乳喂养的产妇生理动力学，推进有关免疫功能，生理状态和行为在人类中相互关联的方式的知识。这项研究还可以为公共卫生研究和母乳喂养行为的实践提供信息。该项目将促进研究生和本科生的培训和指导，研究成果将与参与者社区以及更广泛的研究和公众分享。很少有研究直接研究围产期母体免疫功能，母体生理状态和人类母乳喂养行为之间的联系。这项研究将纵向测量母乳喂养行为，免疫学生物标志物，以及美国孕妇和产后妇女的异质性样本中感知的身心健康，这一人群在母乳喂养行为方面表现出前所未有的变化。由此产生的数据将用于测试两个首要假设：（1）妊娠后期炎症激活的增强将预测母乳喂养困难的增加和母体生理状态的受损，以及（2）在产后早期持续皮肤对皮肤母乳喂养将对应于更好地调节免疫“反弹”和增强母体生理状态。这项研究产生的结果有可能为当前的公共卫生战略提供信息，以（1）确定可能遇到母乳喂养成功障碍的母亲，（2）为妇女继续母乳喂养提供支持，（3）支持母亲的身心健康-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得支持通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

Fundamental research in human biology has provided insight into the complexity of breastfeeding as a unique form of maternal investment that is responsive to offspring cues, sensitive to environmental inputs, and capable of influencing short- and long-term offspring outcomes. While much of this research has focused on implications for infant physiology, comparatively little is known about the biological determinants and impacts of breastfeeding practices among mothers. This doctoral dissertation project will investigate the maternal physiological dynamics of breastfeeding, advancing knowledge about the ways in which immune function, physiological status, and behavior are interrelated in humans. The research may also inform public health research and practice about breastfeeding behaviors. The project will facilitate graduate and undergraduate training and mentoring, and research outcomes will be shared with the participant community as well as a broader research and public audience. Few studies have directly examined the link between maternal immune function, maternal physiological status, and breastfeeding behavior in humans during the perinatal period. This study will longitudinally measure breastfeeding behavior, immunological biomarkers, and perceived physical and mental well-being among a heterogenous sample of pregnant and postpartum women in the United States, a population exhibiting unprecedented variation in breastfeeding behavior. The resulting data will be used to test two overarching hypotheses: (1) heightened inflammatory activation in late pregnancy will predict increased breastfeeding difficulties and impaired maternal physiological status, and (2) continuation of skin-to-skin breastfeeding across the early postpartum period will correspond to better regulated immune “bounce-back” and enhanced maternal physiological status. Findings generated by this study have the potential to inform current public health strategies to (1) identify mothers who may experience heightened barriers to breastfeeding success, (2) provide support for women to continue breastfeeding, and (3) support mental and physical maternal well-being during the transition from pregnancy to the postpartum period.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.