ABSTRACT
In the UK, more than 50% have given formula by the time their babies are 6 weeks, and only one in 200 will be breastfeeding by the time their baby is 1 year. The natural term of breastfeeding can last for over 2 years and is likely to range from 4 to 7 years. Human milk oligosaccharides, modified lactose and oligosaccharides are likely to be older evolutionarily than lactose and some oligosaccharides were probably busy washing over those pre-placental mammalian eggs in the desert. Science, whether basic mechanistic studies of single human milk components, or global health studies into the impacts on infant health and maternal mental and physical health, has overwhelmingly changed the conversation around infant feeding. Mothers matter. Most want to breastfeed their babies, and the majority will be physiologically able to do so if given the right information and support antenatally and in the early hours and days postnatally.
