Breastmilk sugars differ in pregnant women on probiotics: Study
The composition of breastmilk changes in pregnant women on probiotics, a recent study suggests. The finding, published in the Journal of JAMA Pediatrics, upends what scientists thought of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) -- the sugar molecules found exclusively in human breast milk -- and could lead to future studies on how the compounds can be potentially influenced by diet and other factors. Though HMOs are indigestible for a newborn child, they are consumed by certain species in the microbiome and can significantly affect its composition. As a result, scientists have begun focusing on HMOs as a possible reason that infants who consume breastmilk are less likely to get certain viral and bacterial infections, and other severe conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis, along with allergic diseases like a food allergy. The study analysed data from 81 pregnant women who were enrolled in a probiotic supplementation study in Finland. The researchers then compared 20 diff...