• View ecochildsplay’s profile on Facebook
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Twitter
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Instagram
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Pinterest
  • View Jennifer Lance’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on YouTube
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Google+

Eco Child's Play

Live a greener, healthier life!

  • Environment
  • Pregnancy
  • Food & Recipes
  • Health News
  • Parenting
  • Green Toys
  • Beauty & Beauty Products
  • Green Home & Cleaning
  • Contact

Breast Milk "Signals" Infant Behavior and Temperament in Rhesus Monkeys

Photo by laszlo-photoMonkey mama's milk signals behavior and development

Monkey mama's milk signals behavior and development

Have you ever wondered what your breast milk provides for your child beyond simple nourishment?  Animal research may expand our knowledge of the power of breast milk.

Studying rhesus macaque monkeys, researchers have found “that a mother’s milk sends a reliable signal to infants about their environment”.

How does one’s environment affect temperament and behavior?  Scientists have long debated environment versus genetics in human development, but rhesus monkeys may give us a new clue at an even deeper connections involving breast mikl.  Physorg explains:

Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of California, Davis are using this natural variation in breast milk quality and quantity to show that a mother’s milk sends a reliable signal to infants about their environment. This signal may program the infant’s behavior and temperament according to expectations of available resources and discourages temperaments that prove risky when food is scarce.

Published in the American Journal of Primatology, researchers analyzed the milk of 59 monkeys. Katie Hinde, the study’s lead author, expounds:

This is the first study for any mammal that presents evidence that natural variation in available milk energy from the mother is associated with later variation in infant behavior and temperament.  Our results suggest that the milk energy available soon after birth may be a nutritional cue that calibrates the infant’s behavior to environmental or maternal conditions.

Does this trait of rhesus breast milk carry over to humans?  Rhesus monkeys are “more distant from humans than chimpanzees or orangutans;” however, they are often used in disease research because of “genetic, physiologic and metabolic similarity to humans”.  It is also interesting to note that humans are the only primate with a “broader geographic distribution” than the rhesus macaques. I wouldn’t doubt that human babies receive similar signals from their mother’s milk given the similarities.

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • WhatsApp
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe!

« Political Science Professor Says Breast Milk Too Contaminated for Consumption
Hank D and the Bee: Waterless Shower »

Comments

  1. Debbie Page says

    March 4, 2010 at 9:33 am

    Thank you for sharing this spectacular discovery. It will be fascinating to see what they discover about humans and breastmilk. I’m going to blog about this tomorrow with a link to your blog. Thanks for a great article.

    Debbie

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Content

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter


About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

Contact Eco Child’s Play

Plants Over Plastics! Repurpose Compostable Home Products

Convenient Plastic Container Free Dropps Laundry & Dishwashing Pods

More from the archives!

San Francisco to Launch a Do Not Mail Registry?

Formaldehyde in Cosmetics: What’s your teen wearing?

School Yoga Reduces Children’s Anxiety

Eco Child's Play Donation: TreePeople Plants Fruit Trees at Urban Schools

We Need Knowledge AND Critical Thinking in Schools

cbd salve joy organics

CBD Products that Actually Deliver: Joy Organics

wama hemp underwear

The Most Comfortable Underwear is Made of Hemp: WAMA Review

Information

  • About & Contact
  • Archive
  • Blog
  • Consulting Services
  • Disclaimer, Disclosure, & Sponsored Posts
  • Privacy Policy

Envirosax: An Eco Alternative to Easter Baskets

Will using nail polish while pregnant lower your child’s IQ?

Women’s Voices for the Earth: Always maxi pads contain cancer chemicals

Stöger Organic Pumpkin Seed Oil

Gourmet Cooking: Stöger Organic Austrian Pumpkin Seed Oil

Finally, A Safe Sippy Cup

Popular Categories

  • Breastfeeding
  • Health News
  • Natural Childbirth
  • Parenting
  • Education
  • Product Review
  • Green Toys

Get our posts via email

Please stay in touch!

You might also like to read…

An Eco Child's Play Experiment: Lead in Backpacks?

The Perfect Last minute gift: Courtesy of My Mom

Having the Insurance of Healthy Living even on Christmas

Free App For iPhone and Facebook “Recalls Plus” Gives Parents Peace of Mind

Tell Simple Green “It’s Simple: Go Green”!

Copyright © 2023 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 · Divine Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.