Breastmilk has a lot of immunologic properties as well as anti-infective agents which keep your baby healthy and lessen the blow when your baby does come down with something. Among the immune benefits are anti-infective agents that maintain a very low bacteria level level within milk for many hours. They not only protect the infant, but they also protect your breast from infection. They can destroy bacteria in an infant's GI tract before they even have a chance to affect him or her. In fact, they also coat the GI tract to prevent other offending organisms from entering. They can protect from many diseases, including some chronic childhood diseases, Crohn's disease, juvenile diabetes, childhood lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease. Also, many doctors believe that exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months to be the best protection against otitis media (ear infections).
While pregnant, immunities from the mother are passed to the child through the placenta, but after birth, they are passed through her colostrum and milk. (This is why it is so helpful to at least nurse or try to nurse through those first few days if possible, though colostrum is helpful in so many other ways.) Your breast actually produces antibodies locally once the baby has passed offending organisms to it while nursing. Then, the antibodies are passed to the child, helping strengthen both the mother and child's immune system.
Some anti-infective agents are:
What's in your milk?
Why keep on breastfeeding after the first few months?
Disclaimer:I am not a physician and the content on this page is not intended to diagnose or treat. It is merely information I have picked up and would like to share with others. Please see a physician or certified Lactation Consultant for help with specific problems.
{Information Taken from Pocket Guide for Couseling the Nursing Mother. Shinskie, Lauwers. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2002.}
Breast milk has been said to be the perfect food, for so many reasons.
Breast milk is chock full of nutrients....that much we know. Ever wondered just how full and what the purpose is for the nutrients? Here's a short list of the goodies in mommy milk:
These, along with over 200 other known components such as copper, zinc, manganese, silicon, aluminum, and titanium are present in breastmilk. There are more than 20 human milk enzymes too, as well as nitrogen compounds, prostaglandins, and bile salts. Every mother's milk differs slightly due to individual genetic codes, therefore every breastfed infant receives a totally unique product.
It meets 3/4 or more of an infant's nutrient needs during months six through 12. Its output during the second year is equivalent to at least one 8-oz. glass of milk daily and is still valuable to a toddler's diet in both quantity and composition.
Cow's milk has a higher mineral content than breastmilk, which can result in the following: it is a significant contributor to dehydration due to stressful such as hot weather or diarrhea. It may require additional water intake by the infant to expel the solutes in cow's milk. It may cause higher weight gains because thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger and more formula is given to the baby instead of the water he needs. *(NOTE: Regardless of climate where they live, exclusively breastfed babies do not require water supplements.)* The baby experiences a sudden weight gain after switching from breastfeeding to bottle feeding, which many mothers mistakenly think means that their breast milk was not enough nutrition and that the baby needs the formula more. Instead, what is really happening is water retention associated with increased body sodium.
