Breastfeeding and Human Lactation

Breastfeeding is the very means by which humans have thrived and developed as a species. Indeed, the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis recognises that the breastfeeding phase, which can continue to 2 years and beyond, plays a major role in the continuum of optimal programming of the lifelong health and development of the infant. Early life nutrition therefore presents a window of opportunity where the infant’s short and long-term health can potentially be improved in the face of escalating rates of chronic disease that have reached epidemic proportions