Breast feeding releases ‘love’ hormone

A model to explain how bursts of oxytocin release come about during infant suckling was published today in Public Library of Science Computational Biology (click here for the paper).

Somehow, The Mail has concluded from this study that:

Breast-feeding DOES help mothers bond with babies – because it releases the ‘love’ hormone

Thanks, but we’ve known for decades that breast feeding releases oxytocin, or the love/cuddle/trust hormone at Daily Mail HQ. The article goes on to say that “[the study] has discovered that the action of a baby suckling actually changes how the mother’s brain behaves.” We already knew this – the study tries to explain how this happens using a computational model, but never mind.

From The Mail’s oxytocin factfile:

“Voles given the hormone are more likely to pair up.”

“Scientists have proposed spraying a fine mist of the chemical over violent mobs to calm them.” They may also cuddle and pair up, I suppose.

For a more useful guide to the benefits of breastfeeding try this BMJ review.