Breast Milk Components and Neurodevelopment of Children

Breast milk is considered the gold standard in pediatric nutrition. It contains a wide range of nutrients\r\nand other bioactive factors that support enteric and immunologic development of neonates. Some of these\r\nconstituents have neurobiological properties that play vital role in early brain development and facilitate\r\ncognitive development. Understanding the role of these functional nutrients in modulating developmental\r\nprocesses in the brain is emerging area of research. These developmental events depend not only on\r\navailability of nutrients, but it also depends on a variety of growth factors and proteins. These components\r\nare transported from the mother to the fetus via the placenta prenatally and postnatally through milk. Many\r\nstudies have highlighted a positive association between breastfeeding on structural brain development, such\r\nas increased white matter development and increased cortical thickness. Reports also suggest beneficial\r\neffects of breastfeeding on brain and cognitive development from infancy to in adolescence. This review\r\ndiscusses various components in breast milk components which can influence neurodevelopment in children.