UMass Amherst Researchers Seeking Breastfeeding Women for New Moms Wellness Study

Clinical trial will explore the role of fruit and vegetable consumption on breast cancer risk
Study participants will eat eight to 10 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.
Study participants will eat eight to 10 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst-based New Moms Wellness Study is recruiting pregnant women and new, breastfeeding moms for groundbreaking research into the impact of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables on breast cancer risk.

To qualify, women must live within 25 miles of Amherst, have given birth in the last five weeks or still be pregnant and intending to breastfeed. 

Study participants will be randomly assigned to either the diet intervention group or the control group. The diet intervention group will receive boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables weekly and will be asked to eat eight to 10 servings every day. Lactation and nutrition counselors will help participants reach the study goal. The control group will be counseled to follow a nutritional plan recommended to breastfeeding women.

All study participants will be asked to provide breastmilk samples and infant stool samples four times during the first year. They also will complete health, diet and physical activity questionnaires. All participants will receive financial compensation for their time.

Funded with a $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the UMass Amherst research team – environmental toxicologist Kathleen Arcaro, nutrition scientist and extension specialist Lindiwe Sibeko, and cancer epidemiologist Susan Sturgeon – will examine whether a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduces biomarkers of breast cancer risk.

For more information, email newmomswellness@umass.edu or call 413-545-1037.