How does breast milk protect your baby from infections?
Before pregnancy cells that produce antibodies travel around your circulatory system and frequently change course to your intestine, where they protect against infections like cholera or rotavirus. However once a mother begins to produce milk, some of these cells that produce antibodies, also change course to the mammary glands to enable the antibodies to enter a baby’s intestine to build
How does your body know to do that? A molecule called CCR10 has now been identified to be responsible for providing the signal these cells need to move to the mammary glands. Previous studies showed that breastfeeding protects infants against many diseases, among them asthma. A recent study found that the RSV virus (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) a common virus previously believed to come and go in young children without any long lasting effect can cause asthma resulting in long term problems.
Breastfeeding can provide a baby with much needed immunity to help his body overcome this virus.
