母乳为婴儿提供许多生物活性因子，包括免疫调节成分、抗菌剂和益生元，它们可调节婴儿微生物组和免疫系统的成熟。因此，母乳喂养会影响婴儿从婴儿期到青春期直至成年的健康。从保护婴儿免受感染，到降低肥胖、1 型糖尿病和儿童白血病的风险，在接受母乳喂养的婴儿中观察到许多积极的健康结果。对于母亲来说，母乳喂养可以预防产后出血和抑郁症，促进体重减轻，并长期降低患 2 型糖尿病、乳腺癌和卵巢癌以及心血管疾病的风险。除了婴儿和母亲之外，更广泛的社会也受到影响，因为由于缺乏母乳接触而产生与发病和死亡相关的本可避免的成本。在这篇综述中，Medline 用于搜索相关文章来讨论母乳喂养的健康益处及其社会影响，然后探索未来的建议，以增强我们对母乳喂养积极影响背后的机制的理解，并在全球范围内促进母乳喂养。© 2024 作者（s）。约翰·威利 (John Wiley) 出版的《微生物生物技术》

Human milk provides the infant with many bioactive factors, including immunomodulating components, antimicrobials and prebiotics, which modulate the infant microbiome and immune system maturation. As a result, breastfeeding can impact infant health from infancy, through adolescence, and into adulthood. From protecting the infant from infections, to reducing the risk of obesity, type 1 diabetes and childhood leukaemia, many positive health outcomes are observed in infants receiving breastmilk. For the mother, breastfeeding protects against postpartum bleeding and depression, increases weight loss, and long-term lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, breast and ovarian cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Beyond infants and mothers, the wider society is also impacted because of avoidable costs relating to morbidity and mortality derived from a lack of human milk exposure. In this review, Medline was used to search for relevant articles to discuss the health benefits of breastfeeding and its societal impact before exploring future recommendations to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind breastfeeding's positive effects and promote breastfeeding on a global scale.© 2024 The Author(s). Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.