Genetic mutation may identify women with difficulty producing breast milk

Leading health care organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for six months after birth, yet some mothers report stopping due to a perceived lack of milk supply. Penn State College of Medicine researchers found in a recent study that women who stopped breastfeeding because they believed they had inadequate milk supply—a condition called perceived inadequate milk supply (PIMS)—are more likely to have a specific mutation in a gene found in mammary tissue. These women were also more likely to have babies who gained less weight. The researchers said that screening for this mutation, when combined with maternal characteristics like age and body mass index, could be useful in identifying mothers at risk for stopping breastfeeding prematurely due to a perceived lack of milk supply.