The Impact of Breast Milk on Development of Infant Gut Microbiota

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization both recommend exclusive breastfeeding, meaning the use of breast milk as an infant's sole source of nutrition, for the first six months of life.  The benefits of breast milk, which contains all of the vitamins and nutrients a baby needs for the first months of life, have long been studied by researchers and promoted by physicians.  If new mothers choose to breastfeed their infants, breast milk is the main, or only, source of nutrition during a crucial development period of a baby's immune system.  Recent research has focused on the impact of breast milk on this development, specifically in regard to formation of an infant's gut microbiota and allergic phenotype.