The challenge
Low birth weight and preterm birth are significant public health concerns for rural farming women in Vietnam, who are often affected by undernutrition and associated infection. By improving consumption of micronutrient-rich meals before and during pregnancy, Dr. Henri Dirren of the Children’s Hospital of Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) is aiming to improve maternal and infant health. However, his study encountered a challenge: he needed a method to quickly and easily test breast milk samples to assess the effect of the meals.
The solution
HPLC is the go to method for testing breast milk, but is time consuming and requires a lab. Instead, Dr. Dirren used BioAnalyt’s iCheck Fluoro to measure vitamin A concentration in his participants’ breast milk. He was able to train his team to use iCheck Fluoro, and testing could be done on site in participants’ homes.
“The iCheck Fluoro is very field-friendly, allowing an immediate vitamin A determination in fresh milk.”
Dr. Henri Dirren, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute
The result
By being field-friendly and adaptable, iCheck Fluoro enabled Dr. Dirren to test his samples without long and laborious lab work. His study could also be more reactive: when enrolment increased and the phlebotomists could no longer manage the milk sampling, he trained other members of his team to assist.
To learn more about milk fortification and its measurement, read here
