ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Katie Hinde - Lactation researcher
Katie Hinde is studying breast milk’s status as the first superfood, providing babies with invaluable microbes custom-tailored to their individual needs, via an incredible and unlikely dialogue between the mother’s enzymes and the baby’s saliva.

Why you should listen

Did you know mother's milk is older than dinosaurs? Or that the "biological recipe" of milk differs for sons and daughters? Or that milk doesn't just build babies but fuels them too? Mother's milk is the food, medicine and message that organize a baby's brain, body and behavior. What we take for granted in the grocery store dairy aisle has been shaped by hundreds of millions of years of natural selection. As scientists decode the mysteries of milk, we gain essential new tools for human health and well-being.

Scientist, writer and advocate, Katie Hinde, PhD, explores the dynamic interactions between mothers, milk, and infants. Author of dozens of essays and academic articles, Hinde situates her work at the intersection of the life sciences and social sciences to inform parents, clinicians and policy-makers about institutional and inter-personal support of mothers and babies. Hinde co-authored the book Building Babies and founded the science outreach blog, "Mammals Suck…Milk!"

Hinde earned a PhD in Anthropology at UCLA, completed post-doctoral training in neuroscience at the California National Primate Research Center, and then launched her faculty career in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Now an Associate Professor, Hinde is the Director of the Comparative Lactation Lab in the Center for Evolution and Medicine and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University.

Described as "The Milk Maven" in the inaugural Grist 50 list of "innovators, organizers and visionaries who will lead us toward a more sustainable future," Hinde's work was highlighted for tackling social justice in health and research. From considering how milk feeds microbes to researching how milk shapes infant behavior , her research has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, La Presse, Wall Street Journal, Quartz and more. Hinde has been recognized with Early Career Awards from the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and the American Society of Primatologists for making outstanding, original contributions to these fields as a young investigator.

Importantly, Hinde is dedicated to science outreach and building enthusiasm for animals, ecology and behavior. In 2013, Hinde created the annual March Mammal Madness, a month-long science outreach extravaganza that is used in hundreds of classrooms described by Deadspin Deputy Editor Barry Petchesky as "the only bracket you need."

Understanding milk can directly translate to more personalized clinical recommendations and health optimization for mothers and their infants as well as substantiate the importance of infrastructure and institutional support for breastfeeding. Further, identifying the composition and function of milk informs the formulation of more representative artificial breast milk for those mothers facing obstacles or contraindications to breastfeeding. Lastly, decoding mother's milk will allow for enhanced precision medicine for the most fragile infants and children in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Such integrative approaches to mother's milk take discoveries at the bench to applications at the bedside.

More profile about the speaker
Katie Hinde | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2016

Katie Hinde: What we don't know about mother's milk

Katie Hinde: O que não sabemos sobre o leite materno

Filmed:
1,413,994 views

O leite materno faz o corpo dos bebês crescerem, potencializa o seu neurodesenvolvimento, formece fatores imunológicos essenciais e os protege de inanição e doenças. Por que, então, a ciência sabe mais sobre tomates do que sobre o leite materno? Katie Hinde compartilha descobertas sobre essa substância complexa e vital, e discute as maiores lacunas que as pesquisas científicas ainda precisam preencher para que possamos compreendê-la melhor.
- Lactation researcher
Katie Hinde is studying breast milk’s status as the first superfood, providing babies with invaluable microbes custom-tailored to their individual needs, via an incredible and unlikely dialogue between the mother’s enzymes and the baby’s saliva. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Have you ever heard the one
about how breastfeeding is free?
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Já ouviram aquela piada
de que a amamentação é de graça?
00:17
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:18
Yeah, it's pretty funny,
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Sim, é muito engraçada,
00:20
because it's only free if we don't value
women's time and energy.
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porque só é de graça se não valorizamos
o tempo e a energia das mulheres.
00:27
Any mother can tell you
how much time and energy it takes
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Qualquer mãe pode falar sobre quanto
tempo e energia são necessários
00:31
to liquify her body --
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para liquefazer seu corpo,
00:33
to literally dissolve herself --
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para literalmente dissolver-se,
00:36
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:37
as she feeds this precious
little cannibal.
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enquanto ela alimenta
esse pequeno e precioso canibal.
00:41
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:43
Milk is why mammals suck.
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É por causa do leite
que os mamíferos sugam.
00:47
At Arizona State University,
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Na Universidade do Estado do Arizona,
00:49
in the Comparative Lactation Lab,
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no Comparative Lactation Lab,
00:51
I decode mothers' milk composition
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eu decodifico a composição
do leite materno
00:54
to understand its complexity
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para entender sua complexidade
00:57
and how it influences infant development.
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e como ele influencia
o desenvolvimento do bebê.
01:00
The most important thing that I've learned
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A coisa mais importante que eu aprendi
01:03
is that we do not do enough
to support mothers and babies.
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é que não fazemos o suficiente
para apoiar as mães e os bebês.
01:09
And when we fail mothers and babies,
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E, quando falhamos com as mães e os bebês,
01:11
we fail everyone
who loves mothers and babies:
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falhamos com todos
que amam as mães e os bebês:
01:16
the fathers, the partners,
the grandparents, the aunties,
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os pais, os parceiros, os avós, as tias,
01:19
the friends and kin
that make our human social networks.
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os amigos e parentes que fazem parte
de nossas redes sociais humanas.
01:24
It's time that we abandon
simple solutions and simple slogans,
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Está na hora de abandonar
soluções e slogans simples,
01:29
and grapple with the nuance.
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e enfrentar as nuances.
01:32
I was very fortunate
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Eu tive muita sorte
01:33
to run smack-dab
into that nuance very early,
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de esbarrar nessas nuances muito cedo,
01:37
during my first interview
with a journalist
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durante minha primeira entrevista
com uma jornalista,
01:40
when she asked me,
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quando ela me perguntou:
01:41
"How long should a mother
breastfeed her baby?"
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"Quanto tempo uma mãe
deve amamentar seu bebê?"
01:48
And it was that word "should"
that brought me up short,
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E foi a palavra "deve" que me incomodou,
01:52
because I will never tell a woman
what she should do with her body.
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porque eu nunca vou dizer a uma mulher
o que ela deve fazer com seu corpo.
01:58
Babies survive and thrive
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Os bebês sobrevivem e se desenvolvem
02:00
because their mother's milk
is food, medicine and signal.
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porque o leite materno
é comida, remédio e sinais.
02:05
For young infants,
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Para os bebezinhos,
02:06
mother's milk is a complete diet
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o leite materno é uma dieta completa
que fornece todos os elementos
necessários para seus corpos,
02:08
that provides all the building
blocks for their bodies,
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02:11
that shapes their brain
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forma seu cérebro
02:12
and fuels all of their activity.
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e fornece energia
para todas suas atividades.
02:15
Mother's milk also feeds the microbes
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O leite materno alimenta
também os micróbios
02:17
that are colonizing
the infant's intestinal tract.
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que colonizam o intestino do bebê.
02:20
Mothers aren't just eating for two,
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As mães não comem apenas por dois,
elas comem por dois elevado a trilhões.
02:22
they're eating for two to the trillions.
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02:26
Milk provides immunofactors
that help fight pathogens
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O leite fornece fatores imunológicos
que ajudam a combater agentes patogênicos,
02:31
and mother's milk provides hormones
that signal to the infant's body.
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e o leite materno fornece hormônios
que sinalizam ao corpo do bebê.
02:36
But in recent decades,
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Mas, nas últimas décadas,
02:38
we have come to take milk for granted.
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nós deixamos de dar valor ao leite.
02:40
We stopped seeing
something in plain sight.
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Deixamos de ver as coisas de forma clara.
02:43
We began to think of milk as standardized,
homogenized, pasteurized,
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Começamos a pensar no leite como sendo
padronizado, homogeneizado, pasteurizado,
02:48
packaged, powdered,
flavored and formulated.
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embalado, em pó, saborizado e fortificado.
02:52
We abandoned the milk of human kindness
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Nós abandonamos o leite da bondade humana
02:54
and turned our priorities elsewhere.
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e colocamos nossas prioridades
em outro lugar.
No National Institutes of Health,
02:58
At the National Institutes of Health
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em Washington, DC,
03:00
in Washington DC
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03:01
is the National Library of Medicine,
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fica a National Library of Medicine,
03:04
which contains 25 million articles --
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que contém 25 millhões de artigos;
03:07
the brain trust of life science
and biomedical research.
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o cérebro das ciências biológicas
e pesquisas biomédicas.
03:12
We can use keywords
to search that database,
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Podemos usar palavras-chaves
para pesquisar esse banco de dados,
03:15
and when we do that,
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e, ao fazer isso,
03:16
we discover nearly a million
articles about pregnancy,
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descobrimos quase um milhão
de artigos sobre gravidez,
03:20
but far fewer about
breast milk and lactation.
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mas muito poucos
sobre leite materno e lactação.
03:24
When we zoom in on the number of articles
just investigating breast milk,
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Quando olhamos a quantidade de artigos
que tratam apenas de leite materno,
03:29
we see that we know much more
about coffee, wine and tomatoes.
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percebemos que sabemos
muito mais sobre café, vinho e tomates.
03:34
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:36
We know over twice as much
about erectile dysfunction.
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Sabemos mais que o dobro
sobre disfunção erétil.
03:40
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:44
I'm not saying we shouldn't
know about those things --
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Não digo que não devemos saber
sobre essas coisas,
sou uma cientista,
acho que devemos saber sobre tudo.
03:46
I'm a scientist, I think
we should know about everything.
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Mas o fato de sabermos muito menos
03:49
But that we know so much less --
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03:51
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:53
about breast milk --
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sobre leite materno,
o primeiro fluido que um mamífero jovem
está adaptado a consumir,
03:55
the first fluid a young mammal
is adapted to consume --
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03:57
should make us angry.
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deveria nos enfurecer.
03:59
Globally, nine out of 10 women will
have at least one child in her lifetime.
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Globalmente, nove em cada dez mulheres
terão pelo menos um filho durante a vida.
04:04
That means that nearly 130 million
babies are born each year.
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Isso quer dizer que quase
130 milhões de bebês nascem a cada ano.
04:08
These mothers and babies
deserve our best science.
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Essas mães e bebês merecem
o melhor da nossa ciência.
04:13
Recent research has shown
that milk doesn't just grow the body,
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Pesquisas recentes mostraram
que o leite não só desenvolve o corpo,
04:16
it fuels behavior
and shapes neurodevelopment.
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ele alimenta o comportamento
e modela o neurodesenvolvimento.
04:20
In 2015, researchers discovered
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Em 2015, pesquisadores descobriram
04:23
that the mixture of breast milk
and baby saliva --
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que a mistura do leite materno
com a saliva do bebê,
04:26
specifically, baby saliva --
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especificamente a saliva do bebê,
04:28
causes a chemical reaction
that produces hydrogen peroxide
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causa uma reação química
que produz peróxido de hidrogênio,
04:32
that can kill staph and salmonella.
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que pode matar estafilococos e salmonela.
04:35
And from humans and other mammal species,
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E com os humanos
e outras espécies de mamíferos,
04:38
we're starting to understand
that the biological recipe of milk
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estamos começando a entender
que a receita biológica do leite
04:41
can be different when produced
for sons or daughters.
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pode ser diferente quando produzida
para meninos ou meninas.
04:45
When we reach for donor milk
in the neonatal intensive care unit,
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Quando buscamos
leite de doadoras na UTI neonatal
04:49
or formula on the store shelf,
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ou leite em pó nas prateleiras,
04:51
it's nearly one-size-fits-all.
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é praticamente tamanho único.
04:53
We aren't thinking about how sons
and daughters may grow at different rates,
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Não estamos pensando
em como meninos e meninas
podem crescer em ritmos
ou maneiras diferentes,
04:58
or different ways,
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e que o leite pode ser parte disso.
04:59
and that milk may be a part of that.
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05:02
Mothers have gotten the message
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As mães entenderam a mensagem,
05:04
and the vast majority of mothers
intend to breastfeed,
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e a grande maioria delas
pretende amamentar,
05:07
but many do not reach
their breastfeeding goals.
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mas muitas não atingem
seus objetivos de amamentação.
05:11
That is not their failure;
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Isso não é falha delas;
05:13
it's ours.
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é nossa.
05:15
Increasingly common medical conditions
like obesity, endocrine disorders,
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O aumento de problemas médicos comuns,
como obesidade,
distúrbios endocrinológicos,
05:20
C-section and preterm births
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cesarianas e nascimentos prematuros,
05:22
all can disrupt the underlying
biology of lactation.
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podem interromper
a biologia inerente à lactação.
05:25
And many women do not have
knowledgeable clinical support.
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E muitas mulheres não têm
suporte clínico especializado.
05:29
Twenty-five years ago,
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Há 25 anos,
05:30
the World Health Organization
and UNICEF established criteria
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a Organização Mundial da Saúde
e a UNICEF estabeleceram critérios
05:34
for hospitals to be
considered baby friendly --
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para classificar
os Hospitais Amigos da Criança,
05:37
that provide the optimal level
of support for mother-infant bonding
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que são os que fornecem níveis ótimos
de apoio para o vínculo mãe-bebê
05:41
and infant feeding.
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e a alimentação do lactante.
05:43
Today, only one in five babies
in the United States
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Hoje, apenas um em cada cinco bebês
nos Estados Unidos
05:46
is born in a baby-friendly hospital.
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nasce em um hospital
adequado para crianças.
05:51
This is a problem,
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Isso é um problema,
05:52
because mothers can grapple
with many problems
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pois as mães podem enfrentar
diversos problemas
05:55
in the minutes, hours, days
and weeks of lactation.
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nos minutos, horas, dias
e semanas de lactação.
05:59
They can have struggles
with establishing latch,
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Elas podem ter dificuldades com a pegada,
06:01
with pain,
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com dor,
06:03
with milk letdown
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com falta de leite
e percepções em relação
à produção de leite.
06:04
and perceptions of milk supply.
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06:07
These mothers deserve
knowledgeable clinical staff
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Essas mães merecem
pessoal clínico com conhecimento,
que entendam desses processos.
06:11
that understand these processes.
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06:14
Mothers will call me as they're
grappling with these struggles,
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As mães me ligam quando estão
enfrentando essas batalhas,
06:18
crying with wobbly voices.
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chorando com voz trêmula.
06:23
"It's not working.
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"Não está funcionando.
06:25
This is what I'm supposed
to naturally be able to do.
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Eu devia ser capaz
de fazer isso naturalmente.
06:27
Why is it not working?"
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Por que não está funcionando?"
06:30
And just because something
is evolutionarily ancient
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E só porque algo é tão antigo
quanto a evolução humana,
06:33
doesn't mean that it's easy
or that we're instantly good at it.
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não significa que seja fácil
ou que sejamos imediatamente bons nisso.
06:37
You know what else
is evolutionarily ancient?
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Sabem o que mais é tão antigo
quanto a evolução humana?
06:40
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:44
Sex.
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Sexo.
06:45
And nobody expects us
to start out being good at it.
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E ninguém espera que sejamos
bons nisso desde o início.
06:48
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:51
Clinicians best deliver
quality equitable care
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Os médicos fornecem cuidados
melhores, adequados e de qualidade,
06:56
when they have continuing education
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quando eles têm educação continuada
06:58
about how to best support
lactation and breastfeeding.
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sobre a melhor forma de apoiar
a lactação e a amamentação.
07:01
And in order to have
that continuing education,
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E para termos essa educação continuada,
07:04
we need to anchor it
to cutting-edge research
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precisamos ancorá-la em pesquisas de ponta
07:06
in both the life sciences
and the social sciences,
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tanto em ciências biológicas
quanto ciências sociais,
07:09
because we need to recognize
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porque pecisamos reconhecer
07:11
that too often
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que, muito frequentemente,
traumas históricos
e preconceitos implícitos
07:13
historical traumas and implicit biases
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07:17
sit in the space between
a new mother and her clinician.
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se interpõem entre
uma mãe novata e seu médico.
07:21
The body is political.
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O corpo é político.
07:24
If our breastfeeding support
is not intersectional,
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Se nosso apoio à amamentação
não for interseccional,
07:28
it's not good enough.
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não é bom o suficiente.
07:31
And for moms who have to return for work,
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E para as mães que precisam
voltar ao trabalho,
07:34
because countries like the United States
do not provide paid parental leave,
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porque países como os EUA não oferecem
licença-maternidade remunerada,
07:39
they can have to go back in as short
as just a few days after giving birth.
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pode ser necessário retornar apenas
uns poucos dias após o nascimento.
07:44
How do we optimize
mother and infant health
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Como otimizar a saúde da mãe e do bebê
07:47
just by messaging
about breast milk to moms
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apenas instruindo as mães
sobre a amamentação,
07:51
without providing
the institutional support
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sem fornecer o apoio institucional
07:53
that facilitates
that mother-infant bonding
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que facilita o vínculo mãe-bebê
07:56
to support breastfeeding?
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para apoiar a amamentação?
07:58
The answer is: we can't.
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A resposta é: não podemos.
08:03
I'm talking to you, legislators,
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Estou falando para vocês, legisladores,
08:05
and the voters who elect them.
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e para os eleitores que os elegem.
08:07
I'm talking to you, job creators
and collective bargaining units,
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Estou falando para vocês,
empregadores, sindicatos,
08:12
and workers, and shareholders.
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trabalhadores e acionistas.
08:15
We all have a stake
in the public health of our community,
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Todos nós temos responsabilidade
na saúde pública da nossa comunidade,
08:19
and we all have a role
to play in achieving it.
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e todos nós temos um papel
a desempenhar para alcançá-la.
08:23
Breast milk is a part
of improving human health.
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O leite materno faz parte
da melhora na alimentação humana.
08:27
In the NICU, when infants are born
early or sick or injured,
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Na UTI neonatal, quando os bebês nascem
antes do tempo, doentes ou machucados,
08:31
milk or bioactive constituents in milk
can be critically important.
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o leite ou seus componentes bioativos
têm importância crítica.
08:35
Environments or ecologies,
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Em meio ambientes ou comunidades
08:36
or communities where there's
high risk of infectious disease,
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3216
nos quais há alto risco
de doenças infecciosas,
08:40
breast milk can be incredibly protective.
161
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o leite materno pode ser
incrivelmente protetor.
08:42
Where there are emergencies
like storms and earthquakes,
162
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3615
Em locais onde há emergências
como tempestades e terremotos,
08:46
when the electricity goes out,
163
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1496
quando falta eletricidade,
08:47
when safe water is not available,
164
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1976
quando não há água potável disponível,
08:49
breast milk can keep babies
fed and hydrated.
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o leite materno pode manter
os bebês alimentados e hidratados.
08:54
And in the context of humanitarian crises,
166
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E no contexto de crises humanitárias,
08:57
like Syrian mothers fleeing war zones,
167
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2200
como mães sírias fugindo
de zonas da guerra,
09:00
the smallest drops can buffer babies
from the biggest global challenges.
168
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as mínimas gotas podem proteger os bebês
dos maiores desafios globais.
09:07
But understanding breast milk
is not just about messaging to mothers
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4736
Mas entender o leite materno
não é só alertar mães
09:12
and policy makers.
170
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1520
e formuladores de políticas.
09:14
It's also about understanding
what is important in breast milk
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Também é entender
o que é importante no leite materno
09:17
so that we can deliver better formulas
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para que possamos
fabricar fórmulas melhores
09:20
to moms who cannot or do not
breastfeed for whatever reason.
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para mães que não podem amamentar,
ou não o fazem por qualquer razão.
09:24
We can all do a better job
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Todos nós podemos fazer melhor
09:26
of supporting the diversity
of moms raising their babies
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no apoio à diversidade de mães
que criam seus bebês,
09:29
in a diversity of ways.
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de várias formas.
09:32
As women around the world struggle
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Enquanto as mulheres lutam
ao redor do mundo
09:34
to achieve political,
social and economic equality,
178
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para alcançar equidade
política, social e econômica,
09:38
we must reimagine motherhood
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precisamos repensar a maternidade
09:40
as not the central,
core aspect of womanhood,
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não como o aspecto central
e crucial da condição feminina,
09:46
but one of the many potential facets
of what makes women awesome.
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mas como uma das muitas potenciais facetas
que tornam as mulheres impressionantes.
09:51
It's time.
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Está na hora.
09:53
(Applause)
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5403
(Aplausos)
Translated by Cláudia Sander
Reviewed by Raissa Mendes

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Katie Hinde - Lactation researcher
Katie Hinde is studying breast milk’s status as the first superfood, providing babies with invaluable microbes custom-tailored to their individual needs, via an incredible and unlikely dialogue between the mother’s enzymes and the baby’s saliva.

Why you should listen

Did you know mother's milk is older than dinosaurs? Or that the "biological recipe" of milk differs for sons and daughters? Or that milk doesn't just build babies but fuels them too? Mother's milk is the food, medicine and message that organize a baby's brain, body and behavior. What we take for granted in the grocery store dairy aisle has been shaped by hundreds of millions of years of natural selection. As scientists decode the mysteries of milk, we gain essential new tools for human health and well-being.

Scientist, writer and advocate, Katie Hinde, PhD, explores the dynamic interactions between mothers, milk, and infants. Author of dozens of essays and academic articles, Hinde situates her work at the intersection of the life sciences and social sciences to inform parents, clinicians and policy-makers about institutional and inter-personal support of mothers and babies. Hinde co-authored the book Building Babies and founded the science outreach blog, "Mammals Suck…Milk!"

Hinde earned a PhD in Anthropology at UCLA, completed post-doctoral training in neuroscience at the California National Primate Research Center, and then launched her faculty career in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Now an Associate Professor, Hinde is the Director of the Comparative Lactation Lab in the Center for Evolution and Medicine and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University.

Described as "The Milk Maven" in the inaugural Grist 50 list of "innovators, organizers and visionaries who will lead us toward a more sustainable future," Hinde's work was highlighted for tackling social justice in health and research. From considering how milk feeds microbes to researching how milk shapes infant behavior , her research has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, La Presse, Wall Street Journal, Quartz and more. Hinde has been recognized with Early Career Awards from the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and the American Society of Primatologists for making outstanding, original contributions to these fields as a young investigator.

Importantly, Hinde is dedicated to science outreach and building enthusiasm for animals, ecology and behavior. In 2013, Hinde created the annual March Mammal Madness, a month-long science outreach extravaganza that is used in hundreds of classrooms described by Deadspin Deputy Editor Barry Petchesky as "the only bracket you need."

Understanding milk can directly translate to more personalized clinical recommendations and health optimization for mothers and their infants as well as substantiate the importance of infrastructure and institutional support for breastfeeding. Further, identifying the composition and function of milk informs the formulation of more representative artificial breast milk for those mothers facing obstacles or contraindications to breastfeeding. Lastly, decoding mother's milk will allow for enhanced precision medicine for the most fragile infants and children in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Such integrative approaches to mother's milk take discoveries at the bench to applications at the bedside.

More profile about the speaker
Katie Hinde | Speaker | TED.com