The Appearance and Establishment of Breastfeeding Amongst Animals: From Echidna and Platypus to Mammals and Human

Abstract

The paper provides review of the scientific literature dedicated to the evolutionary aspects of breastfeeding in the animal kingdom. Differences in breast milk composition amongst different mammals along with changes in breast milk composition during evolution provided. Special attention is paid to oligosaccharides — unique components of the breast milk of Homo sapiens.