Emryo's Begin To Drink Mothers 'Milk' As Early As 11 Months: Study

A mother's breast milk offer vital nutrients for an infant during the early months of life, and new study has found that mothers begin to provide a form of milk for their baby while they are still in the womb.

For the first 11 weeks of pregnancy, before the mother's nutrient-rich blood supply is plumbed in, all the materials and energy for building a baby are supplied by secretions from glands in the uterus lining.

During this time the embryo is too small and delicate for the umbilical cord to be attached and supply nutrients from the mother's blood supply.

Researchers at the University of Manchester, have found that glands in the lining of the uterus produce a sugary substance known as glycogen and fragments of sugary protein.

"The first few weeks of pregnancy is a critical phase for embryonic development," says Graham Burton of the University of Cambridge, according to the New Scientist. His team discovered in 2002 that the uterus lining - not the mother's blood - nourishes the embryo.

"Our understanding has been revolutionised over the past decade by the discovery that nutrients are supplied by these glands in the uterus lining during the first trimester - the so-called 'uterine milk'," Burton says.

The latest research adds new insights into the enzymes that help deliver glucose across cell membranes to the embryo and placenta, he adds.

Professor Alpin and his colleagues said: 'Our data are consistent with a model in which internalisation of glycoprotein is a major nutritional pathway in first trimester, continuing at a reduced rate into the second trimester as blood solute trafficking increases.'

The findings could also help scientists develop ways of improving fertility treatments like IVF by ensuing an embryo gets the nutrients it needs during the early weeks of development.