Although much progress has been made in understanding the components of human milk, the changes in these constituents as lactation proceeds, and the effects of certain maternal-environmental effects upon the composition of human milk, comparatively little is known regarding the effects of the factors upon the recipient infant. This question is complicated by the complexity of the nutritional, immunologic, hormonal, and induction agents in human milk and by maturational and demographic variables in infant recipients. In addition, there has been a recent upsurge in the use of banked human milk for feeding premature infants. Since pooled, processed human milk is not the same as native human milk, studies are also necessary to test the effects of banked human milk. In addition, possible untoward effects of human milk feedings are potentially increased because of the use of pooled processed human milk. Because of the complexity of these questions and the public health importance of the issues for children in all countries, we are proposing an international conference to examine the current scientific data regarding the effects of human milk upon the recipient infant. Thirty-one outstanding scientists from the U.S.A., Canada, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, France, Australia, and Pakistan will be invited to participate. The conference will be held at the University of Konstanz in the Federal Republic of Germany between September 10-14, 1986. The presentations at the Plenary sessions will address relationships between breast-feeding, infecitons, and infant outcomes; nutritional utilization and grants; hormones in human milk; and breast milk jaundice. The topics of the workshops will be as follows: 1) Nutrient Utilization, 2) Host Resistance, 3) Growth Factors - Hormones-Inducers, 4) Body Composition-Growth, 5) Potentially Harmful Effects, and 6) Epidemiologic Studies. We are requesting that the conference be held in Western Europe to allow investigators from North America to learn more about the studies which are being conducted in Western Europe and develop collaborations with European colleagues concerning the effects of human milk upon developing infants.
