Also see my collection of papers on human infant colonization and pregnancy microbiome. Created January 2016, updated October 2017.

Research papers

Personalization of the Microbiota of Donor Human Milk with Mother’s Own Milk – Nicole T. Cacho – Frontiers in Microbiology – August 2017

Human milk oligosaccharide categories define the microbiota composition in human colostrum –  J Aakko – Beneficial Microbes – July 2017

Human Milk Microbial Community Structure Is Relatively Stable and Related to Variations in Macronutrient and Micronutrient Intakes in Healthy Lactating Women – 
Janet E Williams – The Journal of Nutrition – July 2017

The Bacterial Ecosystem of Mother’s Milk and Infant’s Mouth and Gut – Elena Biagi – Frontiers in Microbiology – June 2017

Distinct patterns in human milk microbiota and fatty acid profiles across specific geographic locations –  Himanshu Kumar – Frontiers in Microbiology – September 2016

Maternal microbial inheritance—benefits of breastfeeding – Md Zohorul Islam – Medical Xpress – August 2016

Bacterial microbiome of breast milk and child saliva from low-income Mexican-American women and children – Veronica Davé – Pediatric Research – February 2016

Human Milk Bacterial and Glycosylation Patterns Differ by Delivery Mode – Marina Hoashi – Reproductive Sciences – December 2015

Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in Human Breast Milk: Influence of Antibiotherapy and Other Host and Clinical Factors – Ana Soto – J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. – July 2014

Impact of lactation stage, gestational age and mode of delivery on breast milk microbiota – P Khodayar-Pardo – Journal of Perinatology – March 2014

Human milk metagenome: a functional capacity analysis – Tonya L Ward – BMC Microbiology – March 2013

Assessment of bacterial diversity in breast milk using culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches – Ted Jost – British Journal of Nutrition – October 2013

The human milk microbiome changes over lactation and is shaped by maternal weight and mode of delivery – Raul Cabrera-Rubio – Am J Clin Nutr – September 2012

Characterization of the Diversity and Temporal Stability of Bacterial Communities in Human Milk – Katherine M. Hunt – PLOS ONE – June 2011

Phenotypic and genotypic analyses of lactic acid bacteria in local fermented food, breast milk and faeces of mothers and their babies – Rima Albesharat – Systematic and Applied Microbiology – April 2011

Human milk is a source of lactic acid bacteria for the infant gut – Rocío Martín – Journal of Pediatrics – December 2003

Review papers

Cells of human breast milk – Malgorzata Witkowska-Zimn – Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters – July 2017

“Omics” in Human Colostrum and Mature Milk: Looking to Old Data with New Eyes – Flaminia Bardanzellu – Nutrients – August 2017

Systematic Review of the Human Milk Microbiota – John L. Fitzstevens – Nutrition in Clinical Practice – September 2016

Early microbial contact, the breast milk microbiome and child health – S. Rautava – Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease – June 2015

The human milk microbiota: Origin and potential roles in health and disease – Leónides Fernández – Pharmacological Research – March 2013

Human milk: a source of more life than we imagine – P.V. Jeurink – Beneficial Microbes – December 2012

Nursing our microbiota: molecular linkages between bifidobacteria and milk oligosaccharides – David A. Sela – Trends in Microbiology – July 2010

Popular press

The bacteria in breast milk. Bacteria are found in large numbers all over the human body where there is a channel to the outside world, for example in the gut, lungs, and surface of the skin – SE Gould – Scientific American – December 2013

Breast milk contains more than 700 species of bacteria, Spanish researchers find – Science Daily – January 2013