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A new phone app developed by The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher Dr Roslyn Giglia is helping mothers change the way they approach alcohol and breastfeeding.

As a child health researcher, I'm often asked by new Mums what's the best thing they can do for their babies? And my answer is always the same, breastfeed.

BABIES SAY "THANK YOU" AS NEW RESEARCH REVEALS BREASTFEEDING BOOSTS MENTAL HEALTH

Convenient, readily available and helping create a close and loving bond between baby and mother, breastfeeding is highly regarded for optimising infant health and preventing chronic disease in adulthood.

Human milk is a rich source of immunomodulatory factors that influence the development of the infant immune system, including susceptibility to allergic diseases. Among these components, milk antibodies have been extensively studied for their role in protecting against infections; however, their potential contribution to allergy prevention may be equally important. The mechanisms of protection include allergen exclusion, enhanced and targeted antigen presentation, immune modulation via shaping of the infant gut microbiome, and direct regulation of gut immune responses. 

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are bioactive carbohydrates abundant in human milk that shape the infant gut microbiome, yet their influence on the oral microbiome remains poorly understood. This study investigated associations between HMO concentrations and infant HMO intakes and the composition of the oral microbiome in predominantly and exclusively breastfed infants.

Developing dietary guidelines for lactating women presents significant challenges, due to limited evidence being available on their specific nutrient needs and the biological impacts of various dietary dimensions. Current dietary recommendations often rely on data from nonlactating women, leading to potential inaccuracies.

Food allergy affects families' quality of life, can be lifelong and life-threatening, urging the identification of early modifiable risk factors. Formula feeding in the first days of life may increase the risk of cow's milk allergy, a risk often attributed to cow's milk allergens exposure. Early formula feeding also reduces the colostrum intake, the first 3 days' milk, which is rich in bioactive compounds critical for immune and gut health. This study investigates whether partial colostrum feeding increases the risk of food allergy beyond cow's milk.

To determine whether there was an independent effect of breastfeeding on child and adolescent mental health

Cytokines in milk like transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) have been shown to induce oral tolerance in experimental animal studies