Relationships between assisted reproductive technologies and initiation of lactation: Preliminary observations.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined initiation of lactation in primiparous mothers of late preterm infants who had conceived with assisted reproductive technology (ARTC) compared to those who conceived spontaneously (SC).

METHOD: Milk productions on day 4 (72-96 hours) and day 7 (144-168 hours) postpartum were measured by weighing expressed breastmilk and test weighing breastfeeds in the ARTC (n = 8) and SC (n = 8) groups.

RESULTS: Mean total milk volumes for the ARTC group compared to the SC group were clinically lower on day 4 (191 mL, SD = 110 vs. 285 mL, SD = 225) and on day 7 (374 mL, SD = 238 vs. 601 mL, SD = 243) respectively.

CONCLUSION: These preliminary observations indicated milk production in the first week was clinically lower in mothers with ARTC, with a range of potential influencing factors identified, suggesting the need for a higher-powered study investigating the effects of ART on the initiation of lactation.