Breastfeeding MM
We all know that ‘breast is best’, but what exactly IS breast milk and how is it produced?
Why breast is best
Have you ever wondered why breast milk is so good for your baby? Well, the answer is because it provides him or her with the perfect nutrition. Breast milk not only contains the appropriate amounts of carbohydrate,
protein and fat for your baby, but also provides the digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins and hormones that all infants require. As if that wasn’t enough - breast milk also contains valuable antibodies
from you that may help your baby to resist infections. You’ll usually begin full-scale milk production within 24 to 48 hours of
giving birth to your baby. Scientifically speaking, this period is called lactogenesis. Once you expel your hormone-producing placenta, the oestrogen and progesterone levels in your body suddenly drop. At the same time, the level of the hormone prolactin rises. The pituitary gland hormone signals your body to make lots of milk to nourish your baby. Laboratory studies show that prolactin may make you feel more ‘motherly’, which is why some experts call it the ‘mothering hormone’.
How is it produced? Milk is produced in small sac-like glands in the breast. These sacs develop after they are stimulated by specific hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone, pituitary prolactin and placental lactogen. (This generally occurs during the second trimester.) When your baby suckles, it stimulates the release of a hormone
(prolactin), which stimulates milk production and the release of another hormone oxytocin, which, in turn, stimulates the contraction – or the ‘let down reflex’ – of the milk glands. As a result, the milk is then squeezed out of the milk gland into the milk ducts and ultimately into the nipple.
First comes colostrum Colostrum is the first milk your breasts will make. Made during the last weeks of pregnancy – and the first days after birth – colostrum can be thick and yellow or clear and watery. It contains special antibodies, which protect your body from infection. During the first days after birth, colostrum gradually changes into mature milk. This ‘first milk’ is produced as the cells in the centre of the alveoli dissolve and flow through the milk ducts and out of the nipple.
Breast milk is the perfect source of nutrition for your baby
Mature milk or ‘breast milk’ Breast milk has two parts – fore milk and hind milk. Foremilk is thin and watery and hind milk is thick and creamy. Your baby gets foremilk at the beginning of a feeding and hind milk at the end of feeding. Hind milk contains the fat and calories, which babies need in order to grown, so be sure to breastfeed well on one breast before you offer the second breast to your baby.
Latest research on breastfeeding
A recent study by The American Academy of Microbiology has found that, in addition to good bacteria, breast milk also contains a number of complex carbohydrates and glycosylated protein that can’t be digested by babies. The carbohydrates and protein are, however, consumed by bacteria of the Bifidobacterium genus, which is believed to play a role in coating the surface of the intestines. The study builds on the idea that healthy gut flora not only assist in food digestion, but also help to expose your baby to healthy microbes early on in their life: a finding that has already proved to be beneficial. Researchers found that babies, who were fed a
mixture of breast milk and formula, had a lower proportion of Bifidobacteriuma
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