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Early childhood obesity is at epidemic proportions. Early child care providers have a unique opportunity to instill healthy eating and active living behaviors in children that can foster lifelong health. Academic-community partnerships that involve collaborations between child care centers, local public health departments, and universities provide one avenue to strengthening healthy eating and active living-related knowledge and skills among early child care providers. This quality improvement pilot intervention, titled Healthy Child Care Makes a Healthy Start, is one example of this type of collaboration. This quality improvement pilot project consisted of two complementary intervention components. Inspectors were trained to cofacilitate a strategic planning process with university researchers to help providers implement healthy eating and active living-related policy, system, and environment changes in their child care homes and centers. An average of five changes were implemented in participating child care locations. Inspectors also received training on health-related best practices and delivered 1-minute health messages to child care providers during routine inspection visits. This type of innovative partnership has the potential to leverage a currently existing relationship between child care providers and licensing and regulation inspectors and shift the relationship to include dissemination and implementation of health messaging in child care center and home settings.

Background: Enteral drug and nutrient delivery to breastfed infants depends on the use of oral syringes and liquid formulations. This can pose both practical and emotional challenges to drug delivery. Objectives: The presented study aimed to explore the potential of using solid formulations for therapeutic delivery during breastfeeding. Methods: Single centre feasibility study within a tertiary level neonatal unit in the UK, involving twenty-six breastfeeding mother-infant dyads. Vitamin B12 was delivered to infants during breastfeeding from a solid formulation within a commercial silicon nipple shield. Outcomes included the quantitative measurement of change in serum vitamin B12 and a mixed methods assessment of maternal expectations and experiences. Results: Participants described the surprising ease of 'drug' delivery, with no negative impact on breastfeeding behaviour or sensation reported. Vitamin B12 levels rose on average from a baseline of 533 pg/mL (236 - 925 pg/mL) to 1871 pg/mL (610 - 4981 pg/mL) at 6 - 8 hours post-delivery. All mothers expressed their support for this approach, 85% a preference over the use of oral syringes. Reasoning for support related to the reduced medicalisation of this procedure compared to the use of oral syringes, and a desire for choices in relation to their infants' health. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that therapeutic delivery from a solid formulation within a nipple shield was feasible and acceptable to mothers and infants.

Background Breastfeeding is critical to health outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings where there is little access to clean water. For infants in their first twelve months of life, the delivery of medications is challenging, and use of oral syringes to deliver liquid formulations can pose both practical and emotional challenges. Objective To explore the potential to deliver medicine to infants via a solid formulation during breastfeeding. Methods Single center feasibility study within a tertiary level neonatal unit in the UK, involving twenty-six breastfeeding mother-infant dyads. A solid formulation of Vitamin B12 was delivered to infants during breastfeeding. Outcomes included the quantitative change in serum vitamin B12 and assessment of maternal expectations and experiences. Results Delivery of Vitamin B12 through a solid formulation that dissolved in human milk did not impair breastfeeding, and Vitamin B12 levels rose in all infants from a mean baseline (range) 533 pg/mL (236–925 pg/mL) to 1871 pg/mL (610–4981 pg/mL) at 6–8 hours post-delivery. Mothers described the surprising ease of ‘drug’ delivery, with 85% reporting a preference over the use of syringes. Conclusions Solid drug formulations can be delivered during breastfeeding and were preferred by mothers over the delivery of liquid formulations via a syringe.