Infants drive many lactation processes and contribute to the changing composition of human
milk through multiple mechanisms. This review addresses the major topics of milk removal;
chemosensory ecology for the parent–infant dyad; the infant's inputs into the composition of
the human milk microbiome; and the impact of disruptions in gestation on the ecology of fetal
and infant phenotypes, milk composition, and lactation. Milk removal, which is essential for
adequate infant intake and continued milk synthesis through multiple hormonal and …