Lactation Cookie Study

NCT ID: NCT04805008

Last Updated: 2022-01-21

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

176 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-03-18

Study Completion Date

2021-12-17

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Lactation cookies contain ingredients thought to increase breast milk production. Although these cookies are widely purchased and consumed with the intention to increase breast milk supply, no scientific investigation has explored the effects of lactation cookies on human breast milk production.

This study will evaluate the effects of a lactation cookie in breast milk production, relative to cookies without ingredients thought to increase breast milk production in exclusively breastfeeding mothers of healthy, term babies.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Caring for an infant is demanding, and breastfeeding can become a stressful experience, particularly if mothers are concerned about their breast milk supply or whether their milk is nutritious enough to meet their infant's nutritional needs.

In the US, research suggests that about 60% of women perceive their breast milk as insufficient to meet their infant's nutritional needs. As a consequence, about one-fourth of women that perceive insufficient milk production wean their infants prematurely.

Lactation cookies contain ingredients thought to increase breast milk production and are widely consumed for this purpose. However, there is no research that has explored the effects of lactation cookies on breast milk supply. To answer this, the investigators plan a randomized controlled trial involving 176 exclusively breastfeeding mothers of 2-month-old infants. Participants will be randomized into "lactation cookies" or "control cookies" (cookies without ingredients thought to increase breast milk production" and will be asked to eat a bag (2 OZ) of cookies per day for 1 month.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Breastfeeding

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators
Participants will receive a generic bag of 57+/-1 grams of either lactation cookies or conventional cookies for 30 days.

Investigators will be blinded to treatment allocation.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Intervention

Lactation cookies

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Lactation cookies

Intervention Type OTHER

1 serving of 2 OZ of cookies per day for 30 consecutive days. These cookies will contain ingredients thought to increase breast milk production.

Control

Control cookies

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Control cookies

Intervention Type OTHER

1 serving of 2 OZ of cookies per day for 30 consecutive days.

The cookies will not contain ingredients thought to increase breast milk production.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Lactation cookies

1 serving of 2 OZ of cookies per day for 30 consecutive days. These cookies will contain ingredients thought to increase breast milk production.

Intervention Type OTHER

Control cookies

1 serving of 2 OZ of cookies per day for 30 consecutive days.

The cookies will not contain ingredients thought to increase breast milk production.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Living in the contiguous continental 48 states in the US
* Mother of a healthy child born at 37 weeks or later from an uncomplicated birth
* Mother must be 18 years old or older
* Infant aged 2-months at enrollment
* Must intend to exclusively breastfeed infant for at least 3 months after birth
* Must have a working weight scale at home
* No formula use in 2 weeks prior to enrollment or plan to use during the study (1 month)
* Must not have any food or cookie ingredient allergies, dislikes, or contraindications to consume cookies
* Intending to bring the child to CDC recommended well-child visits

Exclusion Criteria

* Previous or current diagnosis of thyroid disease, epilepsy, psychosis, bipolar disorder
* Receiving treatment for depression or anxiety, or medications that may interfere with milk production (e.g. metoclopramide, chlorpromazine, domperidone, medroxyprogesterone, thyroid hormone).
* Substance use disorder
* Formula feeding or consuming other lactation boosting products during the study
* Having eaten lactation cookies in previous two weeks
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

University of Florida

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Indiana University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Ana M. Palacios

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Ana Palacios, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Indiana University, Bloomington

David Allison, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Indiana University, Bloomington

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Palacios AM, Lemas DJ, Young BE, Parker E, Dickinson S, Marshall N, Sullivan KL, Wilt H, Cardel MI, Allison DB. Associations among Human Milk Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Infant Sleep Patterns: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Nutr. 2025 Aug 5:S0022-3166(25)00473-0. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.07.021. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40754212 (View on PubMed)

Palacios AM, Cardel MI, Parker E, Dickinson S, Houin VR, Young B, Allison DB. Effectiveness of lactation cookies on human milk production rates: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023 May;117(5):1035-1042. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.03.010. Epub 2023 Mar 14.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 36921902 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

10036

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Dietary Sugars Found In Breast Milk
NCT02940795 COMPLETED NA