umsami Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I think this is very cool and amazing. http://www.salon.com/2013/12/17/study_breast_milk_composition_may_vary_with_babys_gender_partner/ "Mother’s milk may be the first food, but it is not created equal. In humans and other mammals, researchers have found that milk composition changes depending on the infant’s gender and on whether conditions are good or bad. Understanding those differences can give scientists insights intohuman evolution. Researchers at Michigan State University and other institutions found that among 72 economically sufficient mothers in rural Kenya, women with sons generally gave richer milk (2.8 percent fat compared with 1.74 percent for daughters).* Poor women, however, favored daughters with creamier milk (2.6 versus 2.3 percent). These findings, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology in September, echo previous work that showed milk composition varying with infant gender in gray seals and red deer and with infant gender and the mother’s condition in rhesus macaques. The new study also follows findings that affluent, well-nourished moms in Massachusetts produced more energy-dense milk for male infants." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 What happens with boy/girl twins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 What happens with boy/girl twins? No idea…but that would be a fascinating follow up. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBugs Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 That's interesting. I was also wondering about the boy/girl twins since that is what I had. Another question I have is about pumped breast milk. If the mother only pumped according to her own schedule, and not according to infant demand, does that affect the nutrient composition of the milk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I would say because boys tend to be more active but that doesn't explain the economic differences. Hmmm, could a mother's concern effect her milk? Poor moms know the girl needs any advantage she can get? There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I wonder if some of it has to do with diet. They have seen fat quality/quantity differences in milk based on mother's intake of differing types of fat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 It makes sense to me. A mothers hormones are a little different depending on whether she is carrying a boy or girl and also vary depending on diet. Diet will be different depending on a persons income and ability to get a hold of good food. There are also women though that don't have a lot of cream in their milk no matter what gender their baby is. I would wonder if finances would change that much with people like that. Also, wealthy people tend to simply have more boys. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3302799/Rich-mothers-have-more-sons.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 What happens with boy/girl twins? Milk composition can be different in different breasts, so if a boy is always fed on the left, and the girl on the right, they might get different composition. This is true for nursing a newborn and a toddler--different composition for different age. This is amazing, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ailysh Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I have an identical twin, and we both pumped breast milk for my second daughter when I adopted her. I had previously had a biological daughter and my sister had a boy. When the milk settled, hers had a good inch of fat at the top, and mine had less than half that. We thought it was interesting and strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mermo Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Interesting!! I also have B/G twins and each baby stayed on the same side for a full day and then switched the next day. I wonder if my body was that quick to adjust to the schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Fascinating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 that is fascinating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1humanwoman Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I'm unconvinced. This kinds of speculation about sex differences has also led to a lot of justification on oppressing women (for instance, indicating that rape had evolutionary purposes). I wrote a post about this story and the issues around the gendering of breast milk here: http://humanwithuterus.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/gendered-breast-milk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I wonder what would happen if they could do such a study only with mothers of intersexed children. it also strikes me as a rather limited number of subjects for a study. I'd want to see all the numbers before making up my mind about it. I'd be willing to bet they're going on averages, and the range has a fair bit of overlap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I shared this with my twin daughter. Now she's afraid that she drank boy milk meant for her twin brother. I switched b**bs each time I nursed each twin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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