Babies Gut Health: Why Breastfeeding Is Better Than Formula Feeding?

Clinicians caring for preterm newborns in a newborn critical care unit (NICU) have traditionally referred to human breastmilk as "liquid gold."

Premature babies who are breastfed often have better health than those who are fed formula.

But the reason why it is the case has remained a mystery.

Brest-fed babies have good gut health

(Photo : Timothy Meinberg/Unsplash)

The difference is not only due to the composition of breastmilk, according to a recent study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine's (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), which was published online in the journal mBio in June.

Additionally, it is how newborns metabolize it, as per ScienceDaily.

Bing Ma, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at UMSOM and researcher at IGS, conducted the study that resulted in the discovery of a strain of Bifidobacterium breve bacteria.

Breastfed infants that drank more breastmilk than their peers had breve in the intestines.

One week after birth, the preemies acquired an unbroken intestinal wall, which improved their ability to absorb nutrients.

B. breve was substantially less common in infants with "leaky gut," whether they were breastfed or on formula.

Babies with leaky guts do not develop a barrier to protect against bacteria and digested food from getting into the bloodstream.

The scientists also discovered for the first time the way B. breve catalyzes the breakdown of breastmilk, keeping breastfed infants healthy and promoting weight gain by bolstering their immature intestinal barrier.

The team discovered that route B for the first time as well. Breve strengthens the undeveloped intestinal barrier in breastfed newborns, keeping them healthy and enabling weight increase.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the third-leading cause of newborn mortality in the United States and globally, can be caused by an immature or "leaky" stomach.

In reality, NEC has a devastating death rate of up to 50% and affects up to 10% of preterm neonates.

113 preterm infants who were born between 24- and 32-weeks gestation were monitored by the researchers.

This study only identified Bifidobacterium breve in preemies whose gut barrier function had improved within a week after delivery.

The genetic ability of Bifidobacterium breve to digest nutrients within the cell membrane, as opposed to the more common external digesting method in which bacteria release digestive enzymes onto nutrients to break them down, was found by Dr. Ma and her colleagues.

At the most fundamental level, these breastfed preemies have a higher B. Breve processes formula differently from how it processes carbs.

According to the experts, they believe that this metabolic process builds and develops the intestinal barrier more quickly, shielding vulnerable neonates from illness.

Also Read: Could Breastfeeding Make Your Kids Smarter?

Benefits of breastfeeding

For the majority of newborns, breast milk is the best source of nutrients, as per CDC.

As the baby grows, the mother's breast milk will change to meet his or her nutritional needs.

Breastfed infants may be more resilient to a number of acute and chronic diseases and disorders.

Breastfed infants are less likely to experience SIDS, asthma, obesity, or type 1 diabetes. Additionally, ear infections and gastrointestinal ailments are less common in breastfed infants.

Breast milk carries antibodies from the mother to the newborn.

These antibodies protect newborns from sickness and help build their immune systems.

The mother's health also benefits from breastfeeding. Type 2 diabetes, certain malignancies, and high blood pressure are less prevalent in breastfeeding mothers.

Related article: WHO: No Live Coronavirus Found in Breastmilk, Breastfeeding still Recommended