Babies can sniff out mothers' milk

London: It is not just grown-ups who cannot resist the smell of food.

Babies sniff out their mothers' milk, it seems. Research suggests that newborns are guided to their food supply by their noses. This is because tiny glands on the breast produce a fluid with a smell that hungry babies find irresistible, scientists say.

In a study, newborns were found to feed more and put on weight more quickly when feeding from mothers who had lots of the glands, which are visible to the naked eye as small bumps around the nipple.

The scent could be used to teach tube-fed premature babies how to breast feed, the researchers say. This would help them do better when they are eventually able to feed naturally, this week's New Scientist magazine reports.

The effect was especially noticeable in first-time mothers, whose babies also fed more frequently.

— Daily Mail