Breast Is Best

Mother’s milk is full of special ingredients to help nourish and protect your baby

- Sally Michener

If you’re a first-time mother, there’ll most likely be times in the early weeks that you could become frustrated and are ready to toss in the nursing bra and reach for a bottle. But before doing that, consider all the benefits that breastfeeding provides for not only baby but yourself as well.

Mother’s milk is special. Every species of mammal formulates a milk that’s unique for the young of that species, ensuring their growth and enhancing their survival. For instance, the milk of mother seals is high in fat because baby seals need high body fat to survive the cold waters of their natural environment. On the other hand, the human baby’s survival organ is the brain, and human milk contains special nutrients that promote brain growth.

COMPONENTS OF MOTHER’S MILK

The following are the main ingredients contained in the oldest living recipe. You’ll see how each is tailor-made to fit your baby.

Fats

Fats are the most changeable ingredient of breastmilk, and vary according to the caloric needs of your growing baby. At various times during the day, and as your infant grows, the fat content of your milk changes during a feeding, adjusting like a self-formulating fuel to the energy needs of your baby. Your foremilk at the start of a feeding is low in fat, like skim milk. But as feeding progresses, the fat steadily increases until your baby gets the ‘cream’, the higher-fat hindmilk. This milk contains highest in the brains of babies who are breastfed, and highest of all in those who are breastfed the longest.