Apparently, flavours in a mum's food can find their way into her breast milk within minutes and women who wear the wrong kind of bra could be damaging their breasts!
In a recent study, a group of 18 women were asked to provide samples of breast milk before and after eating capsules containing various flavours. Banana could be detected for an hour after consumption, while menthol lasted for eight hours. Liquorice and caraway seed chemicals peaked in concentration in breast milk on average two hours after being eaten.
Mothers are often concerned that their baby may be put off breastfeeding or become upset if they have eaten strongly flavoured food. But the research from the University of Copenhagen suggests that, in most cases, the taste will only change for a few hours at most.
Health Visitor and author, Gill Rapley said that the findings were another reason why breastfeeding might help babies during weaning. Breastfeeding may prepare the infant for flavour changes and new experiences when they start to eat solid foods. She said that while parents tended to worry that something they ate might upset their baby's stomach rather than their tastebuds if passed through breastmilk, the results would be reassuring.
"It's interesting to see just how quickly these flavours disappear from breast milk, and we will be able to tell mothers about this."
And in another breast-orientated study, the breast biomechanics team at the University of Portsmouth (yes it really exists!) said poor support could lead to fragile ligaments in the breast being stretched. They said that during exercise, breasts move up to 21cm (8.26inches), up and down, in and out and side to side - but most bras just limit vertical movement.
The research team tested about 50 bra designs on hundreds of women during the past three years. Wendy Hedger, one of the scientists who carried out the work, said: "Many women are unaware that they are wearing a badly-fitting bra or unknowingly wear the wrong bra size because they are routinely being sold ill-fitting bras. Some women forget that their shape and size change and they might have to go through several changes in bra size over their lifetime, especially after breastfeeding and the menopause."
July 2008
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