Wow, congrats to your son. He did a fine job! What a great project.
Joylyn
[log in to unmask] wrote:
>I am pleased to announce that my son won 3rd place at the California State
>Science Fair in the Junior Division (6-8th grade) Microbiology section with his
>breastmilk project. His abstract is below.
>
>Bacterial Activity in Fresh & Frozen Human Milk as Compared to Cow’s Milk &
>Baby Formula
>
>Microbiology
>
>Objectives/Goal: Human milk is the best food for human infants, but many
>women work and must store their milk for later use. The objective of my project
>was to measure the bacterial activity in human milk compared to cow’s milk and
> formula, both fresh and after freezing for different periods of time.
>
>Materials/Methods: The Methylene Blue dye test was used to measure the
>relative aerobic bacterial content of various milks (fresh and pasteurized human
>milk, fresh and pasteurized cow’s milk, and infant formula) tested fresh and
>after freezing for 3, 10 and 26 days in a household freezer at approximately –
>17.5°C. Each sample had a control. In this test, the more rapid the color
>change, the more bacterial growth. Color change was recorded by time and
>photographically up to 72 hrs at body temperature. The results of the experiment were
>compared to the bacterial count and graded milks standard charts. In Phase II
>additional samples frozen 4-5 months were tested and a simple home test kit
>was designed.
>
>Results: All milks tested exceeded the highest commercial standards for cow’
>s milk. Human milk had the greatest resistance to aerobic bacterial growth
>with no color change, except for 1 sample, for more than 72 hrs. Raw cow’s milk
>had the greatest aerobic bacterial activity. Freezing had no effect on the
>bacterial activity of the milks, with the exception of pasteurized cow’s milk
>that increased in bacterial activity with the length of time frozen.
>
>Conclusion/Discussion: Human milk is the best food for human infants, but
>many women work and must store their milk for later use. One of the human milk
>samples (frozen 10 days) changed color after only 10 hrs, indicating increased
>bacterial activity, possibly due to illness in the donor or contamination
>during collection or processing. A simple home test kit was designed and tested
>to help mothers who may be concerned about the quality of their milk. Human
>milk is the safest, best food for human infants, even when frozen for extended
>periods of time.
>
>Summary Statement: Human milk inhibits bacterial growth more than cow’s milk
>or formulas, even after extended frozen storage, making it safest for infants
>whose mothers need to express and store milk for later use.
>
>Help Received in Doing Project: My mother obtained human milk samples and
>helped with the graphs. My father helped me set up my experiment and helped
>organize the poster board. Both parents helped edit my report.
>
>Nancy
>Nancy E. Wight MD, IBCLC, FABM, FAAP
>Neonatologist, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Children's Hospital
>Medical Director, Sharp HealthCare Lactation Services
>San Diego, CA
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