The new effect of breastfeeding on the baby that a recent study has discovered

Exclusive breastfeeding during the first month has been shown to provide multiple benefits for babies: it strengthens the immune system , improves digestion, and reinforces the bond between mother and child. What we didn't know until now was that it could also have an impact on their health. A new international study , led by the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA) of the Spanish National Council for Chemical Research (CSIC), has revealed that breast milk also helps protect against antibiotic resistance.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications , suggests that exclusive breastfeeding during the first month of life helps reduce the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in the baby's gut. This translates into a more balanced gut microbiota that's less prone to accumulating resistant bacteria.

An invisible barrier that strengthens the baby's health

During the study, the gut microbiota of 66 mother-infant pairs was analyzed during their first year of life. The results showed that exclusive breastfeeding during the first month reduces the gene load for antibiotic resistance compared to other feeding patterns.

Furthermore, the researchers observed that this effect persisted even in babies born by cesarean section, a group in which more alterations in the intestinal flora are typically detected due to the absence of contact with the birth canal. According to the authors, breastfeeding appears to compensate for this imbalance and promote colonization by beneficial bacteria , such as Bifidobacterium , which are linked to better intestinal health.

The research also highlights that discontinuing exclusive breastfeeding before six months can be associated with an increase in resistance genes. Therefore, experts recommend maintaining breastfeeding as long as possible , following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). "Our results show that exclusive breastfeeding not only benefits the baby in the present, but also has lasting implications for their long-term intestinal health ," explained Anna Samarra , a predoctoral researcher in the Mainbiotics group at IATA-CSIC and first author of the study.

Antibiotic resistance: a topic of concern

This discovery adds to the long list of benefits of breastfeeding , but it also highlights the problem of antibiotic resistance. According to the World Health Organization, this phenomenon threatens the effectiveness of treatments and increases the risk of difficult-to-treat infections.

The fact that exclusive breastfeeding during the first month can reduce the presence of these resistance genes in the infant microbiota opens a path for prevention from the earliest stages of life.

Even so, experts emphasize that every family can choose how to feed their babies in the early stages, and that all options deserve equal respect. Therefore, they insist that the study's objective is not to create pressure, but rather to offer information based on scientific evidence so that mothers can make their own decisions .