How amniotic fluid shapes early odor-guided responses to colostrum and milk (and more)

Schaal, Benoı̂st

doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-100295-7.00002-5

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 148 publications

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“…One of the rare studies having investigated neonatal behaviour towards the odour of milk before the first breastfeeding experience was accomplished by Marlier et al in 1997 [7]. In a double-choice test with 9 neonates, of whom 6 were without any breastfeeding experience (and 3 just exposed to mother's breast in the labour room), no discriminative behaviour towards familiar amniotic fluid and familiar colostrum was evident, supporting the hypothesis of transnatal chemosensory continuity between the amniotic and milk environments (see [148,149], for reviews). Further, indirect evidence comes from studies with bottle-fed neonates.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 73%

The odour of human milk: Its chemical variability and detection by newborns

Loos

Reger

Schaal

2019

Physiology & Behavior

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Human milk odour has for long elicited research interest with regard to its function in breastfeeding initiation. The present review aims to provide an overview of the behavioural effects of human milk odour in the human neonate, considering different types of response measures in a feeding or nonfeeding context. Further, an overview of the current knowledge of odorant composition and factors influencing milk odour is provided by summarizing results from analytical studies using olfactometry, and addressing changes in milk odour due to storage, lactational stage, and maternal dietary intake of odorous substances. We finally highlight some issues for future research.

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 73%

The odour of human milk: Its chemical variability and detection by newborns

Loos

Reger

Schaal

2019

Physiology & Behavior

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“…Such initially undifferentiated responses between AF and colostrum have been found in the newborns of other species, suggesting a pan-mammalian convergence in TOC from both compositional and perceptual points of view [6]. Many of the maternal dietary odorants that infiltrated AF will permeate colostrum/milk, as will remnants of the mother's chemical ecology (tobacco smoke, cosmetics), and odour-active compounds deriving from her normal metabolism and lactogenic process, such as steroids or fatty acids (reviewed in [15,16]). Nurslings are sensitive to these odour changes in milk [17][18][19][20][21].…”

Section: From the Prenatal To The Postnatal Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prenatal olfactory experience is then reinforced through postnatal reconsolidation, thereby facilitating newborn responsiveness to that odorant [24,25]. Thus, under normal mammalian circumstances, the mother, via odorants transferred in AF, designs the offspring sensors (fetal chemoreception), the medium (odour cues) and the message (familiarity between the prenatal and postnatal niches) (reviewed in [15,26]).…”

Section: From the Prenatal To The Postnatal Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

Olfaction scaffolds the developing human from neonate to adolescent and beyond

Schaal

Saxton

Loos

et al. 2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The impact of the olfactory sense is regularly apparent across development. The fetus is bathed in amniotic fluid (AF) that conveys the mother's chemical ecology. Transnatal olfactory continuity between the odours of AF and milk assists in the transition to nursing. At the same time, odours emanating from the mammary areas provoke appetitive responses in newborns. Odours experienced from the mother's diet during breastfeeding, and from practices such as pre-mastication, may assist in the dietary transition at weaning. In parallel, infants are attracted to and recognize their mother's odours; later, children are able to recognize other kin and peers based on their odours. Familiar odours, such as those of the mother, regulate the child's emotions, and scaffold perception and learning through non-olfactory senses. During juvenility and adolescence, individuals become more sensitive to some bodily odours, while the timing of adolescence itself has been speculated to draw from the chemical ecology of the family unit. Odours learnt early in life and within the family niche continue to influence preferences as mate choice becomes relevant. Olfaction thus appears significant in turning on, sustaining and, in cases when mother odour is altered, disturbing adaptive reciprocity between offspring and carer during the multiple transitions of development between birth and adolescence. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Olfactory communication in humans’.

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“…First , as the fluid that inaugurates postnatal ingestion, colostrum is a key transitional medium from the fetus to the neonate. Despite compositional differences with amniotic fluid, colostrum is chemically overlapping with it (Hartmann et al, 2012; Schaal, 2016), prompting odor resemblance between both substrates and equivalent attraction in newborns (Marlier, Schaal, & Soussignan, 1997; Schaal, Marlier, & Soussignan, 1998). Secondly , and related to the previous point, the chemosensory familiarity of colostrum is probably higher in the days right after birth, during the phase of colostral stability (ie, postnatal days 0–2; Patton, Huston, Montgomery, & Josephson, 1986; Montgomery, Patton, Huston, & Josephson, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human neonates prefer colostrum to mature milk: Evidence for an olfactory bias toward the “initial milk”?

Klaey-Tassone

Durand

Damon

et al. 2020

American J Hum Biol

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Objectives Colostrum is the initial milk secretion which ingestion by neonates warrants their adaptive start in life. Colostrum is accordingly expected to be attractive to newborns. The present study aims to assess whether colostrum is olfactorily attractive for 2‐day‐old newborns when presented against mature milk or a control. Methods The head‐orientation of waking newborns was videotaped in three experiments pairing the odors of: (a) colostrum (sampled on postpartum day 2, not from own mother) and mature milk (sampled on average on postpartum day 32, not from own mother) (n tested newborns = 15); (b) Colostrum and control (water; n = 9); and (c) Mature milk and control (n = 13). Results When facing the odors of colostrum and mature milk, the infants turned their nose significantly longer toward former (32.8 vs 17.7% of a 120‐s test). When exposed to colostrum against the control, they responded in favor of colostrum (32.9 vs 16.6%). Finally, when the odor of mature milk was presented against the control, their response appeared undifferentiated (26.7 vs 28.6%). Conclusions These results indicate that human newborns can olfactorily differentiate conspecific lacteal fluids sampled at different lactation stages. They prefer the odor of the mammary secretion ‐ colostrum ‐ collected at the lactation stage that best matches the postpartum age of their own mother. These results are discussed in the context of the earliest mother‐infant chemo‐communication. Coinciding maternal emission and offspring reception of chemosignals conveyed in colostrum may be part of the sensory precursors of attunement between mothers and infants.

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How amniotic fluid shapes early odor-guided responses to colostrum and milk (and more)

Cited by 14 publications

References 148 publications

The odour of human milk: Its chemical variability and detection by newborns

The odour of human milk: Its chemical variability and detection by newborns

Olfaction scaffolds the developing human from neonate to adolescent and beyond

Human neonates prefer colostrum to mature milk: Evidence for an olfactory bias toward the “initial milk”?

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