--- title: Breast-Feeding: Human Milk Protects Babies From Pollution, Study Says description: A new study says babies breast-fed in their first 4 months are protected from the harmful effects of nitrogen dioxide and airborne particles canonical: https://time.com/3895428/babies-breastfed-pollution-protection/ author: Sabrina Toppa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-25T09:46:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:49:37.559Z article:section: Health og:title: Breast-Fed Babies Are Better Protected Against Pollution og:description: Study finds that human milk counters the impact of some airborne pollutants. og:url: https://time.com/3895428/babies-breastfed-pollution-protection/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Breast-Fed Babies Are Better Protected Against Pollution twitter:description: Study finds that human milk counters the impact of some airborne pollutants. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Babies Who Are Breast-Fed Are Better Protected Against Pollution, Study Finds by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa May 25, 2015 9:46 AM UTC by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa May 25, 2015 9:46 AM UTC In a newborn infant’s initial four months, exposure to pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and airborne particles can cause negative effects on motor and mental development, but a new study reported on in Science Daily says those effects are countered in babies who are breast-fed by their mothers. Researchers in Spain began monitoring rural, pregnant women in 2006 and analyzed samples from 638 women and their infants at 15 months. They discovered that babies who are breast-fed did not suffer from the potentially harmful developmental impact of PM2.5 (pollution particle matter) and NO2 (nitrogen dioxide). Read more at [Science Daily](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150522083414.htm). ### See the Human Body Under a Microscope  Adrenaline crystals (polarized light micrographs) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Balancing stone from inner ear (colored scanning electron micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Blood clot (colored scanning electron micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Breast cancer (light micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Insulin crystals (polarized light micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Melatonin crystals (polarized light micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Penicillium fungus (colored scanning electron micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Serotonin crystals (polarized light micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Vaginal cancer cells (colored scanning electron micrograph) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited  Ventolin crystals (colred scanning electron micrographs) Reprinted with permission from Science is Beautiful © 2014 by Batsford, an imprint of Pavilion Books Company Limited ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3895428/babies-breastfed-pollution-protection/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3895428/babies-breastfed-pollution-protection/"},"headline":"Babies Who Are Breast-Fed Are Better Protected Against Pollution, Study Finds","datePublished":"2015-05-25T09:46:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:37.559Z","description":"Human milk counters impact of airborne pollutants","url":"https://time.com/3895428/babies-breastfed-pollution-protection/","keywords":["Research","Environment","Pregnancy","Babies","Pollution","study"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3895428/babies-breastfed-pollution-protection/","name":"Babies Who Are Breast-Fed Are Better Protected Against Pollution, Study Finds"}}]}] ```