Table 1.

EXAMPLES OF FUNCTIONS AND BENEFITS (AMONG MANY) OF OXYTOCIN AND/OR LACTATION FOR THE PARENT AND OFFSPRING (Due to space considerations references cited are primarily reviews.).

Economical, efficient and optimal nutrition, automatically adjusting over time [27]

Supports later capacity for sociality and relationships in parent and offspring [28]

Supports parental attachment and investment [28]

Stress-buffering and promoting recovery after injury [29]

Lactational amenorrhea can be contraceptive, allowing birth spacing [27]

Lactation protects against cancers, auto-immune disorders and obesity in later life [27]

Lactation and oxytocin promote neural plasticity [30]

Oxytocin is epigenetically tuned and context dependent [31]

Oxytocin is anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant [32]

Oxytocin is anxiolytic/analgesic [26]

Oxytocin and lactation may increase longevity [33,34]

Human milk contains regulatory hormones, growth factors, antibodies and stem cells [27]

Human milk transfers maternal immunity to offspring [27]