Babies have a keen sense of smell from birth, and research suggests that babies are guided to their food supply by their noses, reports the Daily Mail.
Tiny glands on the breast produce a fluid with a smell that hungry babies recognize. The glands are visible to the naked eye as the small bumps around the nipple, known as areolar glands, and the more a woman has, the more her newborn was found to feed and put on weight more quickly.
Researchers already knew that the fluid from the areolar gland lubricated the skin, but according to a study published in the New Scientist, they now believe the smell also serves a purpose to whet the baby’s appetite.
Scientists are hoping to recreate the smell to be able to help premature and ill babies feed once tube-feeding is removed.
Previous studies showed that newborns prefer to feed from an unwashed breast rather than a clean one, and researchers believe that the smell enhances breastfeeding.
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