Negative childhood experiences can leave traces not only in the psyche of adults, but also – as recent research shows – in the biology of subsequent generations. A team of scientists led by Ali Jawaid, PhD, from Łukasiewicz – PORT has discovered that trauma experienced by a woman in childhood affects the composition of her milk after giving birth.
The results of the study were published in the prestigious neurobiology journal Translational Psychiatry (IF 6.2, 100 points MSHE). Among the co-authors was Anna Apanasewicz-Grzegorczyk, PhD, from the Department of Anthropology at the Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who shares the position of first author with Weronika Tomaszewska, MSc (Łukasiewicz – PORT).
The study analysed milk samples from over 100 breastfeeding mothers, comparing women with different levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACE). It turned out that the milk of women with a higher ACE score contained more specific microRNA molecules – regulators of gene expression affecting, among other things, the development of the child’s immune and nervous systems – and fewer medium-chain fatty acids, which may affect the nutritional value of milk. Importantly, these changes were associated with the temperament traits of infants at 5 and 12 months of age, and these correlations persisted even after taking into account factors such as postnatal depression.
The results obtained show that breast milk is not only a source of nutrients, but also a complex carrier of epigenetic signals shaped by mothers’ life experiences.
Publication:
Tomaszewska W., Apanasewicz A., Gomółka M. et al. Differential microRNAs and metabolites in the breast milk of mothers with adverse childhood experiences. Transl Psychiatry, 2025, 15, 367