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Human Milk Nutrients and Infant Cognition Study

This study is looking at how nutrients from eggs in a mother's diet might help with a baby's brain development. Researchers want to see if breastfeeding mothers who eat either Whole Egg Powder or Egg White Powder for three months can pass on beneficial nutrients to their babies. They will study 84 breastfeeding mothers and their infants. The main goal is to see if these egg supplements affect an infant's recognition memory (how well a baby remembers things) at 6 months of age. You might be able to join if you are a healthy, lactating mother between 18-35 years old, your baby is 12-15 weeks old, and you typically don't get enough DHA, choline, or lutein in your diet. The study status is currently unclear.

Study design
This is an interventional study involving 84 breastfeeding mothers and their infants. Mothers will be randomly assigned to receive either Whole Egg Powder or Egg White Powder.
What's involved
You would visit the lab three times over three months (when your baby is 3, 4.5, and 6 months old). Researchers will collect milk, saliva, and blood samples from you, and saliva and blood samples (heel stick) from your baby. Your baby will also complete two developmental tests.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Infants will have a recognition memory test at 6 months of age, which is the primary endpoint for the study.

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NCT03838536

Synergistic Activity of Human Milk Nutrients and Infant Cognition

Recruiting
NAAges 3–35InterventionalBasic science
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
~84 participants
Updated 2026-04-20 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Whole Egg PowderEgg White Powder

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Recognition Memory in an Oddball Task
Measured over 13 weeks (at 6 months of age)

Conditions

Breastfeeding, Exclusive

Explore related trials

Healthy

Where it's being run

1 sites across 1 states
North Carolina1

Study leadership

  • Carol L Cheatham, Ph.D. · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Associate Professor, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Who to contact

Carol L Cheatham, PhD
[email protected]
704-250-5010
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

infant is 12-15 weeks of age at enrollment
healthy, lactating mother age 18-35
gave birth at \>38 weeks gestation without remarkable incident
consuming \<=50% of the recommended amounts of 2 of the 3, DHA, choline, and lutein

Exclusion

infant with diagnosis or documented suspicion of developmental delay
egg allergy or family history of egg allergy
gestational diabetes
any documented seizure activity

What this trial measures

  • Recognition Memory in an Oddball Task13 weeks (at 6 months of age)

    The difference in microvolts between the negative deflection to novel pictures and the negative deflection to familiar pictures at approximately 100-400ms after the pictures come on the screen will be measured in an event-related potentials (ERP) paradigm. The investigators hypothesize that the whole egg group will have better memory for the familiar pictures than the egg white group.