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Rare-earth elements (REEs) are used in a growing number of applications, and their release to environment has increased over the decades. Knowledge of REEs in human milk and factors that could possibly influence their concentration is scarce. This study evaluated the concentrations of 16 REEs (Ce, Eu, Er, Gd, La, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Dy, Ho, Lu, Tb, Tm, Y, and Yb) in human colostrum milk collected from Polish women (n = 100) with the ICP-OES technique. The concentrations (mean ± SD) of Pr (41.9 ± 13.2 μg L −1 ), Nd (11.0 ± 4.0 μg L −1 ), La (7.1 ± 5.2 μg L −1 ), and Er (2.2 ± 0.8 μg L −1 ) were found above detection limits. The total mean ± SD concentration of detected REEs was 60.9 ± 17.8 μg L −1 . Current smokers displayed significantly increased Nd concentrations compared to women who had never smoked. No other associations between REEs in colostrum milk and age, diet in pregnancy (food supplement use and frequency of fish, meat, and vegetable consumption) or place of living (urban/rural) were found. This study adds to general understanding of the occurrence and turnover of REEs in women and human fluids.

The rusty pipe syndrome is an uncommon condition. It is characterised by suddenly painless, bilateral bloody nipple discharge with no visible evidence of mechanical injuries within the breasts. It resolves spontaneously with no additional medical intervention. If the problem persists for more than 5-7 days, further investigations should be made to exclude other pathologies. In the available literature, there is no clear explanation of the condition. Many authors agree that the condition may be caused by the structure of blood vessels and may depend on changes therein that occur during stage I and II lactogenesis. In most cases, it is recognised during breast milk expression, when the colour of milk is different than normally.

The phenomenon described in the literature as rusty pipe syndrome is a rare condition (the estimated incidence is 0.1% in the population of breastfeeding women) where the prenatal milk and the colostrum are rust- or blood-colored. Due to the rare occurrence of this phenomenon and the related nature of the baby’s regurgitated discharge—green, brown or blood-stained, there is a general fear of latching a newborn or continuing to breastfeed if the regurgitation persists. In this care report, a patient’s milk was tested to determine its microbiological and morphological content. No significant abnormalities were noted in these tests. The nutritional profile of the blood-stained colostrum was normal. Breast milk has an indisputably invaluable impact on the newborn’s further development and there is no connection between rusty pipe syndrome, as described in the literature, and any clinical complications. This is crucial to encourage mothers to keep breastfeeding even if they observe blood-stained colostrum.

Purpose: synthetic oxytocin is currently used to induce labor and strengthen the contractile function in the first or second stage of labor. It is also used therapeutically and prophylactically in the third stage of labor. We aimed to correlate the dose and duration of synthetic oxytocin infusions used during induction of labor, augmentation of labor in the first and second stage of labor, and during active management of labor in the third stage of labor to the level of prolactin and cortisol in the serum of the parturient blood and from the umbilical cord vein.Methods: The mother’s blood was collected from a venous vessel and foetal from the umbilical cord vein just cutting was performed and the levels of cortisol and prolactin was evaluated by electrochemiluminescence (ECLIA). The blood sample from the umbilical cord vein and artery were collected to separate heparinized capillaries and the pH, base deficit (BD), pO2, and CO2 concentration were assessed.Results: We observed decreased level of prolactin immediately after the labor depending on the total dose of synthetic oxytocin used. We did not observe any relationship between the level of prolactin on postpartum day 2 on the dose of administered hormone or the fact of the labor induction. We observed significant correlations with regard to hormone levels without the synthetic oxytocin total dosage correlation. Conclusion: We strongly believe that the definition of uniform norms and principles with regard to the dosage of synthetic oxytocin for labor induction should be determined.

This article has been peer reviewed and published immediately upon acceptance.It is an open access article, which means that it can be downloaded, printed, and distributed freely, provided the work is properly cited. Articles in "Ginekologia Polska" are listed in PubMed.

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Background Childbirth and lactation are intricate processes, involving several hormones, the most important of which are prolactin (a protein hormone) and cortisol (one of the glucocorticoids). The early postpartum period is crucial for both mother and newborn and has an impact on the lactation and breastfeeding process. Methods The study included 78 patients who were admitted to the Gynecology-Obstetrics Clinical Hospital in Poznań for labor induction and/or in the active phase of the first labor stage. The levels of cortisol and prolactin in serum were assessed in these women during admission in labor, during the third labor stage, and on the second day postpartum. The levels of cortisol and prolactin in the umbilical cord serum were assessed immediately after cord clamping. The “Protocol for the assessment of breast-suckling skills” was used to assess the neonatal breast-suckling skills on the second day postpartum. Some additional parameters were evaluated in mothers via a telephone interview at three and six months postpartum. The study was conducted from January to August 2020, however the study was suspended during April–July 2020 due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which led to restrictions in the hospital limiting access to the hospital wards unless necessary. Results Early breastfeeding with skin-to-skin contact was associated with low levels of hormones, cortisol levels were lower in serum (p = 0.0108) and umbilical vein (p = 0.0273) in mothers who breastfed immediately after childbirth. At three months postpartum, 88% of the mothers who did not offer a pacifier to the child during the first few days of life breastfed the child naturally (p = 0.037), and at six months, 96% of those who did not offer a pacifier continued to breastfeed (p = 0.0008). Multiple, statistically significant correlations were observed between the variables assessed according to the “Protocol for the assessment of breast-suckling skills” and breastfeeding after three months. Conclusions Breastfeeding immediately after childbirth, appropriate assessment of the breast-suckling skills of newborns, avoiding pacifiers and infant formula feeding, and offering support to new mothers in the early days after childbirth seem to be important factors for sustaining breastfeeding after three and six months of childbirth.