A URI College of Nursing professor’s groundbreaking study that updates the current weight loss cutoff for when to switch from breastfeeding infants to using formula has earned her a “best research” award from a leading neonatal publication.

University of Rhode Island Assistant Professor Diane DiTomasso has been selected to receive the Journal of Human Lactation’s 2019 Best Research Article With A Practice Focus award for her article, “Neonatal Weight Matters: An Examination of Weight Changes in Full-Term Breastfeeding Newborns During the First 2 Weeks of Life.” The child-nursing research specialist will be officially presented with the award on July 25 at the International Lactation Consultant Association’s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I was very excited and surprised when I got word my article was chosen for an award,” DiTomasso said. “I was also pleased because I think it is important to disseminate these findings to a wider audience. The objective of the study was to figure out how much weight loss is normal in the first two weeks of infancy.”

Prior to the study, health care professionals generally agreed that a 7 percent drop in birth weight should trigger a switch to formula or at least the addition of formula to breast milk. However, during her years as a lactation consultant, DiTomasso has noticed it is common for babies to lose more than seven percent and still end up at a healthy weight later in life. Many people, she noted, are unaware that it is normal for newborns to lose weight at all.

“The common person hears that their baby is losing weight and they get scared and start using formula,” DiTomasso said. “Of course, that decision is ultimately up to the parents to make. But we want parents to be aware that a drop in birth weight is to be expected and there is no need to rush away from the many health befefits of breast feeding.”

DiTomasso’s study found that the average breastfed baby actually loses 8 percent of birth weight and that it was common for newborns to lose up to ten percent. More importantly, the study found that most babies who did lose more than seven percent in the first two weeks still gained weight at a similar pace afterward to babies that lost less than seven percent in the first two weeks.

DiTomasso hopes that her findings will influence the decisions of future mothers and that they will continue to exclusively breastfeed after the traditional seven percent cutoff. She notes that even supplementing with formula can interfere with the breastfeeding routine and cause the baby to lose out on the benefits of breastfeeding. She also acknowledges the mother who participated in her study during the stressful experience that is raising a newborn baby.

“I want to thank the moms who participated in the study and weighed their babies every day,” said DiTomasso. “They were all local mothers from South County Hospital.”