Milk and lactation are incredibly ancient; the origins may stretch back as far as 300 million years.
Scientist now know that lactation evolved from the immune system, and it’s primary function was not nutrition but protection.
The immunological benefits of breast milk were recently beautifully illustrated to me by my neighbour Dan; When in Macedonia for work, he had developed a small stye infection on top of his eyelid. Whilst discussing with a male colleague where to find appropriate medication, a female colleague overhearing the conversation noted; “don’t worry, my sister is breastfeeding”… Dan found himself blushing, imagining the sister’s bare breast, and only after further explanation understood that a squirt of breast milk was believed to have the appropriate antibacterial properties to cure his stye.
Did you know that there are 292 Human Breast Milk Banks in the world, 17 of which are in the UK and 200 in Brazil, which has been associated with a significant drop in child mortality rates.
There are also Milk Banks for research, repositories of human- or animal milk samples. One of these animal milk banks is based at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in the USA, to study the evolutionary history of different species’ milks, which can offer clues to how human milk evolved. (Catherine Zuckerman – National Geographic Jan 2019)
Photo ; Bettina Hubby – Thanks for the mammaries
Anna Versteeg