Breastmilk Composition
Breastmilk composition changes during the lactation period to meet your baby's growing nutritional requirements. Breastmilk composition also changes to meet the special needs of pre-term babies! Pre-term babies grow better when they are fed on breast milk compared to formula. The 3 factors which influence breastmilk composition are:
- How old is your baby?
- Have you just started your breast feeding session or is it nearly over?
- What is your diet?
The advantages of breastfeeding are immense during the initial stages. Even if you do not plan to breastfeed your baby in the longer run, consider breastfeeding for as long as you can during this time.
Colostrum is the first milk that a breast feeding baby receives. This milk is yellow in colour and is formed around the sixth month of pregnancy. Colostrum strengthens the baby's immune system and it also prevents food allergies. It contains higher amounts of white blood cells, antibodies and proteins than mature milk, and is especially high in immunoglobulin. Immunoglobulin forms a lining on the breastfed baby's delicate intestines and stops germs from entering the baby's system.
Colostrum gives the baby enriched protein nourishment. Colostrum also serves as a mild laxative which helps the nursing baby to pass her stools without any problem. Colostrum contains lesser fat and lesser sugar compared to mature milk. After two to three days of breast feeding, colostrum starts changing to transitional milk. Two weeks after the baby is born, there will be no more colostrum in the body.
The transitional milk is produced for about a week in the mother's body. Transitional milk has lesser amount of proteins but is a rich source of lactose, fats, calories and vitamins. After a week, the transitional milk changes to mature milk.
Once the mature milk starts flowing in, the breasts might become engorged due to abundant milk supply. When the baby starts feeding rigorously, the breasts come back to normal. Mature milk contains mostly water with a lot of fat dissolved in it. Other nutrients that are dissolved in breast milk in lesser quantities include carbohydrates, proteins, vitamin, minerals and enzymes. Mature milk is bluish-white in colour.
Mature breastmilk changes composition over each feeding session. Each time you start breast feeding, the first milk that appears is grey in colour and is watery. This is called foremilk and has plenty of water, lactose, vitamins and minerals which quench the baby's thirst. This milk does not contain sufficient quantities of fat. As the breast feeding progresses, the milk becomes whiter and is called the hindmilk. This hindmilk provides the needed fat content. It is advisable to feed the baby from one breast rather than alternating between both the breasts to give your little one an optimum balance of foremilk and hindmilk.
When the baby is about six months old and has been exclusively fed with breast milk, the quantity of breast milk reduces. The milk produced during this stage is called weaning milk. Weaning milk contains lesser sugar and calories and more salt content. Sometimes your baby is no longer interested in breast milk when this happens and she begins to wean herself from your breast. This is a part of the baby-led or baby-initiated weaning process. At this stage, you must start supplementing her with other food to meet her nutritional requirements.
