19/03/2025
Laurel Wilson
A new study from Denmark just uncovered yet another of human milk: The relationship between your baby’s gut microbiome, how long you provide human milk, and your child’s blood pressure at ages 3 and 6 is deeply intertwined.
Here’s the scoop:
Babies who were breastfed for at least 6 months and had higher levels of certain Bifidobacterium species (the "good guys" in the gut) had better blood pressure by the time they were preschoolers.
The presence of these beneficial bacteria within the first month of life seems to be critical—and human milk feeding plays a major role in feeding and nurturing those microbes through human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which provide food for the microbes.
Without enough of these key gut supporters (or without exposure to human milk), some bacteria shift gears. Instead of working with the body, they can start feeding on glycans in the mucin layer of the intestines, leading to increased inflammation, setting the stage for higher blood pressure and other health challenges.
They also spotted that early colonization with H. pylori (a bacteria you definitely don’t want hanging around in infancy) was linked to higher blood pressure down the road, too.
This study is such a powerful reminder that human milk feeding isn’t just nutrition, it’s a full-body system of communication, immune regulation, and lifelong health programming between parent and baby.
It’s also why honoring supporting lactation and creating real, tangible policies to make human milk feeding possible (hello, paid leave, workplace accommodations, and actual community care) is essential for public health.
Because this isn’t just about milk.
It’s about microbes.
It’s about metabolism.
It’s about heart health.
It’s about setting up the next generation for vitality from day one.
If you needed a reminder that the microbiome matters, here it is.
Liu, T., Stokholm, J., Zhang, M., Vinding, R., Sørensen, S. J., Zhao, N., & Mueller, N. T. (2024). Infant Gut Microbiota and Childhood Blood Pressure: Prospective Associations and the Modifying Role of Breastfeeding. Journal of the American Heart Association, e037447.
