Breast milk boosts baby's brain development

Scientists have identified a sugar in breast milk that helps boost the nerve connections within the brain. — AFP

Nature and nurture – and science – have long shown that infants benefit from being breastfed.

But in what could turn out to be important finetuning of how and why this is, Yale University scientists and neurologists in the United States have fingered the sugar myo-inositol, contained in human milk, as “a bioactive dietary compound that promotes neuronal connectivity across species”.

In other words, breast milk supports brain development in babies, say the researchers, who profiled human milk samples collected in China, Mexico and the US.

The sugar – which is “a prominent component during the early stages of lactation” when neuronal connections form rapidly in the infant brain – helps promote “synapse abundance during postnatal development”.

The authors of the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, say their findings could “yield leads for the improvement of paediatric nutrition products”, particularly in the improvement of infant formulas in “under-resourced areas with conditions that prevent breastfeeding”.

But for now, the effects of such sugars and micronutrients on human brains remain “incompletely understood”, according to the Yale team.

In European countries, health ministries have in recent years, joined doctors in promoting breastfeeding to families.

Surveys indicate varying results of these efforts, however.

Some suggest that some mothers prefer to feed their babies formulae via bottles, and others that mothers often stop breastfeeding after eight weeks, despite advisories recommending up to six months. – dpa