Research ‘What does a baby drink at the breast’ nominated for Klokhuis Science Prize

We are proud to share that our study ‘What does a baby drink at the breast?’ has been nominated for the Klokhuis Science Prize 2025!

Breastfeeding offers unique benefits for mother and child but does not always happen naturally. Many mothers stop breastfeeding because they think they are not producing enough milk. But how do we know how much milk babies drink? And why does breastfeeding work better for some mothers than others?

Within the project ‘Human Milk and Lactation’ of the University of Twente (TechMed Centre), Prof Dr Nienke Bosschaart and team are developing new techniques to measure milk flow and composition during breastfeeding. They also investigate what happens inside the breast during feeding. This helps to understand better why breastfeeding is easier for some mothers than others and contributes to scientific knowledge about lactation. 

Video on breastfeeding research (Dutch spoken)

The Klokhuis Science Prize rewards scientific research that is relevant and interesting to children aged 9-12. With this nomination, we hope to raise awareness of our research on breastfeeding so that children can easily learn about it.

Do you want there to be a Klokhuis episode about breastfeeding research in 2025? Vote for our research!

The winner will be announced at InScience's ‘Meet the Researcher’ event on 16 March 2025.

Members of the nominated research team:

Nienke Bosschaart (adjunct professor); Ana Boamfa (PhD student); Hanna de Wolf (PhD student); Wietske Verveld (PhD student); David Thompson (Postdoctoral researcher).