Search Our Online Directory

Breast Milk Differs Depending on Babies Sex

Pregnant mothers may say they don’t have a preference over having a boy or a girl, however, their breasts may disagree. A new study by Harvard University suggests that mothers produce breast milk that is biologically different for boys than for girls. 

Ultimately, between studies conducted on humans, monkeys and as well as other mammals, the common discovered theme was that baby boy’s breast milk is richer in protein and fat, while baby girls receive more liquid milk. 
There are several theories as to why this might be:

1. Since daughter monkeys generally inherit their social statues from their mothers, feeding females more milk could accelerate their development and allow them to begin reproducing earlier in age, which, consequently, seals the daughter a desired place within the monkey society. This early sexual development is not important for boy monkeys, because their only reproductive limit is how many females can be ‘won over’. 

2. Male monkeys spend a considerable less amount of time nursing, and more time independently playing and exploring, thus, boys mandate more energetically dense milk due to their less frequent feeding sessions. 

3. As far as humans are concerned, the reasoning for this differentiation is unknown: it could be simply an evolutionary trait we adapted from our primate ancestors, but there is not enough research done on the human-side yet to provide definitive answers. 

4. The non-primate cow also shows similar breast milk differentiation. In a study of 1.5 million cows, over nearly a two year period, the cows produced an average of 908 lbs more milk for female calves than for male calves, but no difference in protein/fat ratios was recorded.

Sources: NY Daily News

Related Articles
  • New Study Having a Large Baby Raises Risk of Breast Cancer?Having a large baby can increase your risk of getting breast cancer? Sounds outrageous, right? Well new research shows that women who give birth to ...
  • Breastfeeding Tips?Your newborn baby is ready to start breastfeeding right after birth. Successful breastfeeding requires patience and a lot of practice, so don’t ...
  • Breast Anatomy?The human female breast consists mainly of fat and breast tissue, along with the various nerves, veins, arteries and connective tissue that hold ...