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The Metabolome of Breast Milk and Its Potential Long-Term Effects on the Child

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Breastfeeding and Metabolic Programming

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Abstract

Current recommendations suggest that the optimal way to feed a neonate is by breastfeeding alone. Human breast milk supplies the complete nutritional requirements of the rapidly growing and developing infant up to the age of 6 months [1]. In accordance with this view, the recommendations from both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are for infants up to the age of 6 months to receive exclusively breast milk, with other foods being gradually introduced alongside continuing breast milk until the child’s second birthday. The time from initial conception up to the second birthday, often referred to as the first 1000 days, is a vital period influencing the metabolic programming of the child thereafter. During the period for which the mother is lactating, the composition of breast milk alters significantly, which may reflect the changing nutritional needs of the child [2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child Health and Diseases, Arel University, Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Türkiye

    Özlem Naciye Şahin

  2. NICU, Third Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University General Hospital “ATTIKON”, Athens, Greece

    Despina D. Briana

  3. Centre of Perinatal Medicine of the University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Gian Carlo Di Renzo

  4. Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia

    Gian Carlo Di Renzo

Authors
  1. Özlem Naciye Şahin
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  2. Despina D. Briana
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  3. Gian Carlo Di Renzo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child Health and Diseases, Arel University, Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Türkiye

    Özlem Naciye Şahin

  2. Pediatrics Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Despina D. Briana

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Gian Carlo Di Renzo

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Şahin, Ö.N., Briana, D.D., Di Renzo, G.C. (2023). The Metabolome of Breast Milk and Its Potential Long-Term Effects on the Child. In: Şahin, Ö.N., Briana, D.D., Di Renzo, G.C. (eds) Breastfeeding and Metabolic Programming. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33278-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33278-4_13

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