Breast milk can provide the infant’s gut with beneficial bacteria that induce protective effects against a number of conditions. Recent findings show that the mother’s gut microbiota has an important impact upon the microbial composition of the milk and its health supporting qualities. This opens up promising avenues for the application of breast milk bacteria as beneficial microbes in the management of infectious and immune diseases in mothers and infants, said Dr. Esther Jiménez (Complutense University of Madrid / Spain) at the Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit that took place in Barcelona, March 14-15, 2015.