There?s a reason why breast milk is referred to as liquid gold: It has immune-boosting components that are dynamic in responding to your baby?s needs, making it a pretty amazing first food for your little one. Read on to discover the mind-blowing ways that breast milk changes, from composition to colour to taste.
1. Breast milk changes as your baby grows
In the beginning, breasts produce thick, honey-textured colostrum packed with immunological components that protect your newborn. ?It?s basically like a baby?s first vaccination,? explains Taya Griffin, an international board-certified lactation consultant. She explains that one of the major immune boosters is called secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), which coats the internal organs and lining of the digestive, respiratory and reproductive tracts. ?SIgA doesn?t let bacteria and pathogens get in through the gut, so it protects your baby from the inside out,? says Griffin. Colostrum, which Griffin says is lower in some nutrients (such as lactose and fat) than mature milk and higher in others (such as protein and potassium), is designed to suit your newborn’s growing body.  After giving your baby an initial immune-system supercharge (and clearing the intestines of meconium) in the first two or three days, your breast milk changes again and increases in volume, says Griffin. Known as transitional milk, it lasts roughly three to seven days and gradually transforms into mature milk by the two-week mark. This mature milk ...