ArticlePediatric research2026
A ducted, biomimetic nipple replicates breastfeeding mechanics through ontogeny in an infant animal model.
Article in Pediatric research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) Swallowing Physiology: Novel Dysphagia Model Across Lifespan.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Fluid flow and feeding performance in infant mammals: evaluating the impact of nipple design.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Infant pigs demonstrate motor adaptation across multiple physiologic functions during feeding in response to dynamic changes in milk flow rate.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlthough there are known physiological and developmental benefits for breastfed infants, many infants must be bottle-fed for a variety of reasons. We hypothesize that some of these health disparities are caused by biomechanical differences in milk acquisition between breastfeeding and bottle feeding (suction versus expression) that are caused by fundamental structural differences between breast tissue (which has narrow ducts) and bottle nipples (which are hollow).
methodsTo evaluate if a biomimetic, ducted bottle nipple elicits suckling physiology that is more similar to breastfeeding than conventional bottle feeding, we studied suckling in full-term infant pigs, a validated animal model for infant feeding. We raised one group on each nipple type and fed all pigs from both nipple types at the end of infancy. We recorded synchronous videofluoroscopy and intraoral suction and calculated the rate of milk consumption.
resultsInfants raised on ducted nipples generated greater intraoral suction throughout most of infancy. In contrast, infants raised on cisternic nipples compressed the nipples more, swallowed larger boluses, and consumed milk at a faster rate.
conclusionsThese differences mirror those reported between breastfeeding and bottle feeding, suggesting that a biomimetic nipple elicits mechanics that are similar to breastfeeding and can improve feeding outcomes. IMPACT: Milk acquisition from ducted, biomimetic bottle nipples mirrored the mechanics of breastfeeding by eliciting greater suction generation, reduced nipple compression, and a slower rate of milk consumption compared to feeding from cisternic nipples. Differences in the physiology and mechanics of milk acquisition between breastfeeding and bottle feeding can be attributed to the structural differences between ducted breast tissue and hollow bottle nipples. The use of ducted bottle nipples has the potential to reduce disparities in physiological and developmental health outcomes between breastfed and bottle-fed infants and improve the ability for caretakers to transition between breast and bottles for feeding.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.