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

博士论文研究：工业化环境中的炎症和母婴动态

• 批准号: 1945759
• 负责人: Amy Boddy
• 金额: $ 3.09万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-03-15 至 2022-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1945759&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Inflammation; mother

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.

人类生物学的基础研究使人们对母乳喂养作为一种独特的母亲投资形式的复杂性有了深入的了解，这种投资对后代的暗示做出反应，对环境投入敏感，并能够影响子女的短期和长期结果。虽然这项研究的大部分内容都集中在对婴儿生理的影响上，但对母亲母乳喂养的生物学决定因素和影响知之甚少。这篇博士论文项目将研究母乳喂养的母体生理动力学，促进对人类免疫功能、生理状态和行为相互关联的认识。这项研究还可能为公共卫生研究和实践提供有关母乳喂养行为的信息。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受众分享。很少有研究直接研究围产期母体免疫功能、母体生理状态和母乳喂养行为之间的联系。这项研究将纵向测量美国孕妇和产后的母乳喂养行为、免疫生物标志物以及感知的身心健康。美国孕妇和产后的母乳喂养行为表现出前所未有的差异。由此产生的数据将被用来检验两个最重要的假设：(1)妊娠晚期炎症活动的加剧将预示着母乳喂养困难的增加和母亲生理状态的受损，(2)在产后早期继续皮肤对皮肤母乳喂养将对应于更好地调节免疫“反弹”和增强母亲的生理状态。这项研究产生的结果有可能为当前的公共卫生战略提供参考，以(1)识别可能经历更高障碍的母乳喂养成功的母亲，(2)为妇女继续母乳喂养提供支持，以及(3)在从怀孕过渡到产后期间支持母亲的心理和身体健康。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。