Breastfeeding is one of the most primal actions of a mother, a bodily function that female mammals share. The World Health Organization recommends that it begins within the first hour following birth and continues up to two years and beyond. It is a natural way of boosting the infant’s immunity as well as the mother’s health.
At the same time, breastfeeding can prove a challenge for some, especially those who have never done it before. It was painful latching my newborn son in the days just after birth, and he began to lose weight dangerously as he was not feeding enough. We had to supplement with formula to keep him alive. I had pre-eclampsia like my mother did, and she was unable to breastfeed me at all after her Caesarean section.
Thankfully, after a few days, an experienced midwife showed my husband how to help me express milk – it gave him a purpose in the hospital, where he was feeling pretty useless, and it made me feel not so alone in my breastfeeding journey! He and our friends and relatives were able to share in the tender joy of feeding the baby in the following weeks.
In the end, I was able to breastfeed my son for the first three years of his life, and his sister tandem-fed for one and a half years. Not only did we save money on formula, but we also enjoyed the bonding time that comes with nursing – they held hands across my chest as they fed. It was also an easy way to comfort them or put them to sleep. Breastfeeding releases the hormone cholecystokinin, which makes babies sleepy.
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Liquid Gold
Mothers’ bodies tailor breastmilk to the specific needs of each baby. The composition of a mother’s milk changes in response to a baby’s health or stage of growth. When a sick baby’s saliva backwashes into the milk ducts, the mammary glands increase antibodies in the milk, helping the baby fight off infection.
This also occurs when a mother kisses her baby, picking up pathogens on the child’s skin which enter the mother’s lymphatic system, producing antibodies that pass through the breastmilk to the baby.
Both the composition and volume of breastmilk change significantly as a baby develops, adapting to the baby’s needs. Mothers of premature babies produce milk with more calories, fat, protein and sodium than mothers of babies born at full term.
As birth approaches, hormones in the placenta trigger the production of colostrum, a thick yellow fluid known as liquid gold. This is full of protein, copper, zinc and immunoglobulins, and magnesium, crucial to the growth of the baby’s heart and bones.
Colostrum establishes a healthy gut for the baby. A lactation consultant told us to harvest the pre-birth colostrum in syringes for our babies and freeze it, so that if our babies fell sick, we could re-seed their guts with good bacteria.
Steve Hoffman writes: “Two of the last systems to be finished during gestation are the immune and digestive systems. Babies’ immune systems take years to fully develop, and they rely on their mother’s immunity to stay healthy. We also don’t come out ready to eat pepperoni pizza. The colostrum helps ‘finish’ these systems. It is no different for other mammals, and most mammals cannot even survive without the colostrum.”
Dynamic Nutrition
The next stage is transitional milk, produced from about four days to two weeks post-birth. Finally, the mother produces mature milk for the rest of her breastfeeding journey. This milk keeps evolving according to the baby’s requirements and throughout the day, with different levels of nutrients and hormones. Tryptophan is produced in evening milk, inducing sleep and promoting serotonin, which is necessary for brain development and function.
Even during a single feed, the fat content of breastmilk changes, beginning with watery foremilk that quenches the baby’s thirst, and progressing to fattier hindmilk for the child’s energy needs. The baby can get the exact kind of milk he needs through the way he suckles and the duration he chooses to feed.
The mother’s breasts can detect even a one-degree fluctuation in her baby’s body temperature and adjust her milk to heat up or cool down the baby as required. On hot days, the milk’s water content may increase for extra hydration.
Breastmilk’s flavour and nutrients also change with the mother’s diet. Studies have shown that breastfeeding babies particularly enjoy the tastes of vanilla, garlic and cinnamon.
Full-Time Job
In one year, breastfeeding takes approximately 1,800 hours. A full-time job with three weeks’ vacation takes about 1,960 hours. I am fortunate to be able to work from home at a desk job, so I was able to breastfeed my son in one arm while typing with the other hand!
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Producing breastmilk consumes 25% of the body’s energy – by comparison, the brain uses 20%. The metabolic energy required to breastfeed each day is equivalent to running seven miles or 11.27 kilometres.
So, if you see someone breastfeeding, a word of encouragement would not go amiss, particularly in modern society where some frown upon it, not understanding its importance beyond the newborn stage. It is a glorious, natural and crucial function of the human body, sustaining and optimising the health of the next generation.
Do you have any tips for breastfeeding mothers, or on how their husbands may support them? Share them in the comments section below!
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Image courtesy of Adobe.
About the Author: Jean Seah
Great article. I have breastfed 5 babies but I didn’t know a lot of that stuff!