Breastfeeding. A practice that has come back into vogue once again. After years of companies attempting to sell their version of nutrition for babies.
But, we now know that breast milk- the natural stuff- is the best nutrition for our newborns. Not only does it provide the nutritional requirements of a baby, it delivers the ability to deliver immunity proteins, protection against disease, maybe even behavioral norms- as well as effecting critical bonding between mom and baby.
And, this creates issues for those women who are not able to – or allowed to- provide colostrum (the technical term for breast milk) to their infants. And, I know we’ve all see advertisements to borrow (there’s a term that makes no sense- once colostrum is fed to a baby, it can’t be returned) another mother’s breast milk. The problem with that is there no formula for breast milk. Not only does the composition change from mom to mom; it changes from baby to baby. It even changes as the baby develops and grows.
So, these moms are forced to use synthetic foods (breast formula) for their baby. With all sorts of supplementation. The problem with this option is the development of the gut microbiome within the baby. Breast milk contains complex sugar chains (called oligosaccharides) that augment the growth of the bacteria in the baby’s gut. And, those microbes will grow to convert food (once the baby gets it) into the short-chained fatty acids it will need as the baby grows and develops.
Colostrum also provides special compounds to treat diseases. It is amazing (it was to me) to learn that when a baby is sick- even if the mom isn’t- the mom’s colostrum starts delivering more white blood cells. (Leukocytes, aka white blood cells, are critical in the protection against diseases.) 13X as much as normal. And, if both mom and baby are sick, it would not be unusual for the white cell levels to increase by 64X. (Drs. F. Hassiotou, AR Hepworth, P Metzer, CT Lai, N. Trengrove, PE Hartmann, and L. Filgueira, Maternal and infant infections stimulate a rapid leukocyte response in breastmilk.)
The question is how that happens. The current hypothesis is that infant saliva caries some sort of marker that crosses the breast as the baby is suckling- or perhaps even the pathogen at issue crosses- which leads to the amplified production of leukocytes.
All these factors are the reasons behind the new criteria to feed babies via breast milk. Back when I was a kid, the practice was waning, and folks thought the synthetic liquid we fed our babies was the right thing to do.
Science has taught us otherwise.
Another plug for my book- and the special offer for those who buy the paper edition. (You do need to know that the new tax law has changed, for your business and your personal life.)
It is a good thing we were able to get through the last phase of miss-information so that we can get through the current one.
Thanks Roy for keeping us up to date on the current science.
It is a problem when commercialism is allowed to provide false information, one that put our children at risk.
Of course, here in the States, we have a President who provides false information all the time- and is putting the world at risk.
I breast fed (this nearly 30 years ago). We don’t want to discuss how women breast feeding in public are still harassed. Or how many women at work (I was one of them, and I was accompanied by a co worker who would moo at me from the next stall) have to express milk in bathrooms or other less than idea places. It’s not at all surprising.
Yes, Alana- that is a problem in a great many places, even though that is illegal.
Alexandria was one of the first areas to develop regulations that let nursing mothers feel more at ease.
The human body is truly miraculous!
And, there’s nothing to add to that at all, Jennifer!
Like Alana, I breast fed (almost 50 years ago) but when my daughters had children, breast feeding had “faded out”. My granddaughter brought the tradition back when her baby was born 2 months ago. Great info Roy!
There’s a bunch more for your granddaughter on my blog, too. (She can check the index!)
Thanks for the visit and the comment, Martha!