When my husband, a Chemical Analyst, brought home an issue of Chemical and Engineering News with an article entitled “Unraveling Breastmilk” I was a bit skeptical. There was a photo of a breastfeeding infant on the cover, which addmittidly was quite impressive. However, the objective of unraveling the chemical components of breastmilk seemed to be to create a superior formula, and I wondered how a superior formula would help with encouraging women to breastfeed, which has far greater benefits than the nutrition and antibodies alone.
I read the article with a critical eye, but I found it to be both respectful of the amazing substance that is breastmilk, and extremely fascinating. To see just how complex breastmilk is on a scientific level, and how hard it is for them to replicate this amazing substance was really very interesting.
The article can be found here: Unraveling Breast Milk: Analytical scrutiny reveals how complex fluid nourishes infants and protects them from disease
I have to warn you that the article is written for chemists, so it is not the easiest thing to read. Even though I didn’t understand the entire thing, reading about the chemistry of breastmilk really gave me a new understanding and appreciation for the substance. I think the last sentence of the article sums it up nicely; “It is a remarkable fluid,” German emphasizes. “It’s extremely embarrassing how little we still know about it.”