Can a mother’s body protect her breast milk even if she is malnourished? Yes.
In her new study, Dual Behavioral–Physiological Buffering of Mothers’ Milk Facilitates Drought Adaptability of Pastoralists and Agropastoralists in Northern Kenya, Dr. Masako Fujita examines how environmental challenges—like drought—affect the nutrition and health of 221 breastfeeding mothers living in northern Kenya.
“During a severe drought, we found that mothers protect both their own nutrition and the nutrients in their breast milk—safeguarding their babies—through a combination of social support, behavioral choices, and biological responses,” Fujita said.
Check out the research here!