When health correspondent Slavea Chankova struggled to breastfeed her daughter, she went looking for the latest research on human lactation. What she found was a shocking lack of good science. A field neglected since a breast-versus-bottle schism divided parents in the 1970s has left mothers with little support for low milk supply. Now, a handful of researchers are finally uncovering the mysteries of our first food.
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For more on the science of baby formula, listen to an episode from our sister podcast, Babbage: “Can breast milk be replicated in a lab?”
And, read Slavea’s reporting in The Economist this week: “Why many women cannot make enough breast milk”.
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