Breastival @NIScience Festival
Breastival has taken part in the NI Science Festival for the last two years; offering fascinating talks on the science of breastfeeding.
In February 2020, Breastival hosted two fascinating talks: on breastfeeding cultures and the microbiology of human milk.
‘Food for Thought – the Microbiology of Milk’ was the first talk with Dr Simon Cameron who talked about the microbiology of human milk and he explored the unique compounds that make breastmilk so special.
Simon, who featured in Channel 4 Dispatches documentary “Breastfeeding Uncovered” alongside Kate Quilton in 2018, joined Queen’s University Belfast in 2018 to study the microbiology of milk.
In this interactive session, nursing mums had the chance to participate in new research to help the researchers learn more about human milk. Very little is known about the good bacteria that is in human milk and its role in helping babies reach their full potential in terms of health and development. For Dr Cameron to carry out his research and better understand milk as a living substance, he needed fresh breastmilk.
A number of volunteers at the event expressed milk into containers either by hand or by taking breast pumps with them to the event. Then using a swab, volunteers dipped into the milk and then spread onto an agar plate. Cameron took away the samples to incubate them and is planning to share the pictures on Facebook and Twitter in due course.
Speaking at the event Cameron said:
“Human milk has evolved to meet the needs of the newborn infant, and it is something that we simply cannot replicate in the laboratory or factory. In addition to providing all the nutrition a newborn needs, human milk is also the first food that the gut microbiome receives. It contains hundreds of different sugars that are used as an energy source to help the gut microbiome develop and which we are now understanding as being an essential building block of a functioning immune system.
Human milk also contains different species of microbes which do not cause disease; but instead help train the new-born’s immune system to defend against potentially harmful pathogens.
Growing these microbes in the lab though is very difficult and the research project being launched at the Science Festival is looking at new ways that this can be done. Breastfeeding mums will get to see first-hand how we can grow these microbes and help shape the direction of future research in this crucial area.”
Also, at the Blackbox that day, Breastival hosted Dr. Lesley Dornan who took participants through a fascinating journey through different cultures and how they feed their babies.
Dornan, a lecturer at Ulster University studied women, babies, and milk in different cultures in South East Asia where mothers milk is valued and cherished. Lesley was joined by Breastival co-founder Dr. Jennifer Hanratty for a discussion on our culture and how it impacts women’s choices in feeding their babies.
Breastival which was back for a second year at NI Science Festival, aims to normalise what has sometimes been a controversial subject in Northern Ireland. Despite the NHS and World Health Organisation recommendation that children be breastfed until the age of two and beyond, only 7% of children in Northern Ireland are breastfed past six months. More and more women are choosing to breastfeed but many of them will stop before they want to.
Co-founder of Breastival, Jennifer Hanratty, said:
“We know that culture has a big influence on how families choose to feed their babies. In Northern Ireland, where bottle feeding is the norm, it seems that we don't really value breastfeeding. So, when women face challenges, because breastfeeding isn't always easy, support comes in the form of a bottle and breastfeeding is instantly undermined.
It is great to be back at the Science Festival again this year as one of the many satellite events Breastival runs throughout the year. This great pair of talks will explore the value of breastfeeding. From considering the contrast between our culture and cultures where breastfeeding is venerated to uncovering the fascinating microbiology of the ultimate superfood, human milk."
In February 2020, Breastival hosted two fascinating talks: on breastfeeding cultures and the microbiology of human milk.
‘Food for Thought – the Microbiology of Milk’ was the first talk with Dr Simon Cameron who talked about the microbiology of human milk and he explored the unique compounds that make breastmilk so special.
Simon, who featured in Channel 4 Dispatches documentary “Breastfeeding Uncovered” alongside Kate Quilton in 2018, joined Queen’s University Belfast in 2018 to study the microbiology of milk.
In this interactive session, nursing mums had the chance to participate in new research to help the researchers learn more about human milk. Very little is known about the good bacteria that is in human milk and its role in helping babies reach their full potential in terms of health and development. For Dr Cameron to carry out his research and better understand milk as a living substance, he needed fresh breastmilk.
A number of volunteers at the event expressed milk into containers either by hand or by taking breast pumps with them to the event. Then using a swab, volunteers dipped into the milk and then spread onto an agar plate. Cameron took away the samples to incubate them and is planning to share the pictures on Facebook and Twitter in due course.
Speaking at the event Cameron said:
“Human milk has evolved to meet the needs of the newborn infant, and it is something that we simply cannot replicate in the laboratory or factory. In addition to providing all the nutrition a newborn needs, human milk is also the first food that the gut microbiome receives. It contains hundreds of different sugars that are used as an energy source to help the gut microbiome develop and which we are now understanding as being an essential building block of a functioning immune system.
Human milk also contains different species of microbes which do not cause disease; but instead help train the new-born’s immune system to defend against potentially harmful pathogens.
Growing these microbes in the lab though is very difficult and the research project being launched at the Science Festival is looking at new ways that this can be done. Breastfeeding mums will get to see first-hand how we can grow these microbes and help shape the direction of future research in this crucial area.”
Also, at the Blackbox that day, Breastival hosted Dr. Lesley Dornan who took participants through a fascinating journey through different cultures and how they feed their babies.
Dornan, a lecturer at Ulster University studied women, babies, and milk in different cultures in South East Asia where mothers milk is valued and cherished. Lesley was joined by Breastival co-founder Dr. Jennifer Hanratty for a discussion on our culture and how it impacts women’s choices in feeding their babies.
Breastival which was back for a second year at NI Science Festival, aims to normalise what has sometimes been a controversial subject in Northern Ireland. Despite the NHS and World Health Organisation recommendation that children be breastfed until the age of two and beyond, only 7% of children in Northern Ireland are breastfed past six months. More and more women are choosing to breastfeed but many of them will stop before they want to.
Co-founder of Breastival, Jennifer Hanratty, said:
“We know that culture has a big influence on how families choose to feed their babies. In Northern Ireland, where bottle feeding is the norm, it seems that we don't really value breastfeeding. So, when women face challenges, because breastfeeding isn't always easy, support comes in the form of a bottle and breastfeeding is instantly undermined.
It is great to be back at the Science Festival again this year as one of the many satellite events Breastival runs throughout the year. This great pair of talks will explore the value of breastfeeding. From considering the contrast between our culture and cultures where breastfeeding is venerated to uncovering the fascinating microbiology of the ultimate superfood, human milk."